This week, are Israel and Hamas inching closer to a ceasefire? Peace talks between Rwanda and DRC called off. Amidst Sudan’s deteriorating situation, UN envoy attends meeting on peace efforts.
Are Israel and Hamas inching closer to a ceasefire?
After over a year and three months of war, are Israel and Hamas inching closer to a ceasefire? This week, a senior Palestinian official part of indirect negotiations between the two parties told BBC that talks were “in the decisive and final phase.”
The US, Qatar, and Egypt have resumed mediation efforts, and say that both sides are showing more willingness to come to a deal. Israeli defense minister Israel Katz said that a deal is closer than ever.
Hamas spokesperson Bassem Naim told Newsweek that progress on talks was “positive and optimistic.” Naim added that “Unless Netanyahu and his government set new conditions, we may reach an agreement soon,” and that, “On our part, we are showing all flexibility to facilitate reaching an agreement.”
But some obstacles remain, Israeli and US officials say, including the disclosure of names of hostages to be released by Hamas, and details on the positioning of Israeli forces. Israel is still carrying out airstrikes in Gaza, with a strike on one of the last functioning medical facilities in northern Gaza on December 17 killing eight people according to medics, Washington Post reported.
Hamas’s brutal attack on Israel on October 7 killed over 1,200 people, and Israel’s operations in Gaza since then have, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, killed 44,786 Palestinians as of December 10.
Peace talks between Rwanda and DRC called off
Peace talks between Rwanda and the DRC which were set to take place on December 15 were called off. Congolese presidency spokesman Giscard Kusema told AFP that the hurdle to peace talks was over a Rwandan demand to “…set as a precondition for the signing of an agreement that the DRC hold a direct dialogue with the M23.”
On December 13, Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe said that Rwanda desired “a firm commitment from the DRC to resume direct talks with the M23 within a well-defined framework and timeframe.” However, DRC’s government says that the M23 only exists due to Rwanda’s military support, and that if Rwanda withdraws its troops from DRC, the conflict with M23 will end.
Both M23 and Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) have committed grave war crimes and violations of international law, including unlawful killings and sexual violence. DRC’s crisis has left over 7 million people internally displaced, accounting for 10 percent of the world’s internally displaced people (IDPs). This follows a number of failed peace efforts between the DRC government and M23 rebels. To learn more about the human suffering caused by this crisis, click here.
Amidst Sudan’s deteriorating situation, UN envoy attends meeting on peace efforts
Amidst the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Sudan, the UN envoy for Sudan on December 18 joined a meeting in Mauritania focused on coordinating peace efforts in the country. Discussions at the meeting in Nouakchott reviewed the efforts of the UN and Saudi Arabia in Sudan’s situation.
This news comes as El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, has been under seige. UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric told reporters on December 17 that the World Food Programme has been unable to get into El Fasher. A WFP convoy with 178 metric tons of aid and food headed for Zamzam Camp was rerouted to Kalma Camp due to security concerns, Dujarric said. The convoy did, however, provide assistance to almost 15,000 people. Dujarric added that the WFP is trying to reach 14 hunger hotspots across Darfur, Kordofan, Khartoum, and Gezira states, but is struggling due to the ongoing fighting, Sudan Tribune reported.
Last month, it was reported that over 61,000 people had died in Sudan’s Khartoum state, a number much higher than previously believed. While 26,000 of these people were killed in violence, the leading cause of death across the country was preventable disease and starvation, BBC reported.
Sudan’s conflict, which began in April last year, has led to a major humanitarian crisis with millions displaced.
This Week in Peace will be on a hiatus for the holidays next week, however, we will be back the following week.
Tara Abhasakun
Tara Abhasakun is a journalist in Bangkok. She has reported on a range of human rights issues involving youth protests in Thailand, as well as arts and culture. Tara's work has appeared in several outlets, including Al Jazeera and South China Morning Post.
