Photo : Collected
American and Israeli negotiators are expected in Cairo over the weekend for a renewed push to reach a ceasefire-hostage deal in a war that reaches the half-year mark on Sunday.
The attempt comes after Israel made a rare admission of wrongdoing during its war against Hamas militants in Gaza. The military said it was firing two officers for the killing of seven aid workers -- most of them Westerners -- in the territory where humanitarians say famine is imminent.
Israel's admission, however, did not quell calls for an independent probe.
The killing of the workers from US-based World Central Kitchen (WCK) on April 1 led to a tense phone call between United States President Joe Biden and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Biden urged an "immediate ceasefire" and for the first time hinted at conditioning American support for Israel on curtailing the killing of civilians and improving humanitarian conditions.
The bloodiest-ever Gaza war began on October 7 with an unprecedented attack from Gaza by Hamas militants resulting in the death of 1,170 people in southern Israel, mostly civilians, Israeli figures show.
Palestinian militants also took around 250 Israeli and foreign hostages, about 130 of whom remain in Gaza, including 34 the army says are dead.
Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel has relentlessly bombarded the territory by air, land and sea, killing at least 33,091 people, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
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