A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is poised to go into effect on 19 January, with indications as MEES went to press on 17 January that a meeting of Israel’s cabinet to approve the deal was set to take place imminently. The plan is that the ceasefire would pave the way for an end to 15 months of war. Following Hamas’ 7 October 2023 incursion into southern Israel in which it killed 1,200 people and abducted a further 251, Israel has lain waste to the Gaza Strip (MEES, 13 October 2023) and expanded the conflict into Lebanon and even conducted strikes in Iran.
Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry claims Israel’s offensive has killed more than 46,000 people, with the majority of the strip’s 2.3mn population displaced and widespread shortages of food and medicine. (CONTINUED - 338 WORDS)
