Israeli FM: Gaza war hinges on Hamas surrender
Shafaq News – Gaza
The war in Gaza could end if Hamas releases all hostages and lays down its arms, Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Sunday during a joint press conference with Denmark’s foreign minister.
Hamas has rejected such terms, insisting the fighting will not stop until Israeli forces withdraw from Gaza.
Meanwhile, Israeli troops continue to expand their hold on Gaza City, now estimated to be 40% under military control. The advance, according to international organizations, has fueled mass displacement, with families heading toward overcrowded shelters in Khan Younis and Rafah, where food and medicine are in critically short supply.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, hospitals received 87 bodies in the past 24 hours—including four recovered from under rubble—along with 409 new injuries. Ambulance and civil defense crews report being unable to reach additional victims trapped under debris.
Since October 7, 2023, the ministry declared 64,368 people have been killed and 162,776 wounded in Gaza. From March 18, 2025, alone, 11,911 deaths and 50,735 injuries have been recorded. Among them are 2,416 people killed while trying to obtain food aid—31 in the past 24 hours—with more than 17,700 others wounded.
The health ministry also confirmed five new deaths from starvation and malnutrition in the past day, including three children. That brings the total to 387 deaths from hunger since October 2023, of whom 138 were children. Since famine was formally declared by the IPC, 109 deaths have been attributed to hunger, including 23 children.
