CALLS for a ceasefire in Gaza intensified amid talks between Egypt and Hamas — after 100 were killed in Christmas Eve air strikes.
Terror group Hamas rejected Egypt’s proposal to surrender to Israel in return for a permanent truce, it was claimed.
GettyEgypt is trying to broker a ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel after a 100 were killed in Gaza on Christmas Eve[/caption]
The Pope and Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby pleaded for an end to the bloodshedRex
But Israel’s war cabinet was still due to discuss the plan yesterday, raising hopes a deal may be possible.
It would also include the release of the 132 remaining hostages who have been held in Gaza since the murderous incursion into Israel by Hamas on October 7.
The moves came as the Pope and Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby pleaded for an end to the bloodshed.
In his Christmas Day message at the Vatican, Pope Francis said: “My heart grieves for the victims of the abominable attack of October 7 and I reiterate my appeal for the liberation of those being held hostage.
“I plead for an end to the military operations with their appalling harvest of innocent civilian victims. And I call for a solution to the desperate humanitarian situation by an opening for humanitarian aid.”
The Archbishop used his Christmas Day sermon at Canterbury Cathedral to highlight the conflict, and anti-Semitism in the UK.
Mr Welby said “the skies of Bethlehem are full of fear rather than angels and glory”.
He added: “Today a crying child is in a manger somewhere in the world, nobody willing or able to help his or her parents who so desperately need shelter.
“Or perhaps lying in an incubator, in a hospital low on electricity, like the Anglican al-Ahli hospital in Gaza, surrounded by suffering and death.
“Maybe the newborn lies in a house that still bears the marks of the horrors of October 7, with family members killed, and a mother who counted her life as lost.
“Or maybe they’re not a newborn, but someone thinking of next term, having again to hide their Jewishness on their way to school in this country, fearful of the sin of anti-Semitism.”
On Sunday, at least 70 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting Maghazi in central Gaza.
Medics also said an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis in southern Gaza killed 23 and eight people died as Israeli planes and tanks carried out dozens of air strikes in al-Bureij and al-Nuseirat.
Before dawn yesterday, an Israeli strike “targeting a house” in the central Al-Zawaida area killed at least 12 people, the Gaza health ministry said.
Israel said two more of its soldiers had been killed — bringing the number since Friday to 17 and to 156 since its ground assault began.
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