At least 15 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes on two gatherings in Gaza City and Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestinian sources said on Monday.
Israel’s attacks on Gaza continue
Palestinian security sources told media that Israeli jets struck a gathering of Palestinians in al-Shati refugee camp west of Gaza City. Medical sources said the airstrike killed nine people and injured several others. All of the wounded were taken to hospital.
In addition, six people were killed in an Israeli strike on a cluster of Palestinians near an internet distribution point west of Khan Younis, medical sources said.
Meanwhile, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said on Monday that at least 289 people, including 207 UNRWA staff members, as well as 885 medical workers were killed in the Gaza Strip.
Many of the dead were killed while providing humanitarian aid or medical care to the wounded and sick, UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini wrote on social media platform X. He also noted that more than 160 journalists and media workers have been killed while covering the humanitarian consequences of the conflict and ongoing violations of international humanitarian law.
Blinken urges Hamas to accept ceasefire proposal
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had accepted an “interim proposal” presented by Washington to bridge the differences blocking a Gaza ceasefire agreement and called on Hamas to do the same.
Blinken spoke to reporters after a full day of meetings with Israeli officials, including a two-and-a-half hour meeting with Netanyahu. Earlier, the top US diplomat said the move was probably the best and possibly the last opportunity for a deal.
Talks in Qatar last week on a ceasefire and hostage return deal broke down without a breakthrough, but were expected to resume this week on the basis of a US proposal to bridge the differences between Israel and Hamas.
Blinken’s visit comes at a time when US President Joe Biden is facing mounting pressure in the run-up to the election over his stance on the conflict. The Democratic Party begins its national convention on Monday amid pro-Palestinian protests and concerns about Muslim and Arab-American votes in influential states.
But after a Palestinian Islamist group announced the resumption of suicide bombings inside Israel after years and claimed responsibility for Sunday night’s bombing in Tel Aviv, and medics said Israeli military strikes on the Gaza Strip on Monday killed at least 30 Palestinians, there are few signs of reconciliation on the ground and fears of a wider war. Blinken told reporters in Tel Aviv:
“In a very constructive meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu today, he confirmed to me that Israel accepts the bridging proposal – that he supports it.”
While the US expressed optimism and Netanyahu’s office described the meeting as positive, both Israel and Hamas made it clear that any agreement would be difficult.
Months of back-and-forth negotiations boiled down to the same issues: Israel said the war could end only with the destruction of Hamas as a military and political force, and Hamas said it would only agree to a permanent, not temporary, cease-fire.
There are disagreements over Israel’s continued military presence in Gaza, especially on the border with Egypt, the free movement of Palestinians through the territory, and the identity and number of prisoners to be released in the swap.
Hamas officials accused Washington of favouring Israel. Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan told Reuters:
“When Blinken says that the Israelis agreed and then the Israelis say that there is an updated proposal, this means that the Americans are subject to Israeli pressure and not the other way around. We believe that it is a manoeuvre that gives the Israelis more time.”
Oil prices decline amid hopes for ceasefire
Crude oil futures were trading lower on Tuesday morning amid hopes of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in West Asia.
At 9.52 a.m. Tuesday, October Brent crude futures were at $77.05, down 0.79 per cent, while October WTI (West Texas Intermediate) crude futures were at $73.08, down 0.79 per cent.
September crude futures on Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) in the first hour of trading on Tuesday were trading at ₹6144 (Indian rupee) against the previous close of ₹6190, down 0.74 per cent, while October futures were trading at ₹6125 against the previous close of ₹6165, down 0.65 per cent.
In their Commodities Feed, ING Think’s Warren Patterson, Head of Commodities Strategy, and Ewa Manthey, Commodities Strategist, said this has helped ease some fears over supply risks hanging over the oil market. He also added:
“However, we still need to see if Hamas will accept the deal, and if we get a deal, whether the ceasefire holds. Oil prices are likely to remain sensitive to how this evolves.”
According to ING Think’s Commodities Feed, oil prices came under renewed pressure on Monday, with ICE Brent quotations down just over 2.5 per cent for the day.
Concerns over demand centred around China persist. The latest data released to the market supports the view that demand for oil in China is declining. Last week’s trade and industrial production data indicated that apparent demand for oil continued to decline in July. They said these concerns mean speculators remain hesitant to enter the market despite expectations of shortages for the rest of the year.
Meanwhile, a Reuters report said production from Libya’s Sharara field rose to 85,000 barrels a day, aimed at supplying the Zawia refinery. Libya’s National Oil Corporation declared force majeure on oil exports from the field on August 7 after a blockade by protesters cut production at the 300,000 barrel-per-day field, the report said.
August natural gas futures were trading at ₹187.70 on the MCX in the first hour of trading on Tuesday against the previous close of ₹186.50, up 0.64 per cent.
On the National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), August cotton cake contracts were trading at ₹3165 in the first hour of trade on Tuesday against the previous close of ₹3044, up 3.98 per cent.
September jeera futures were trading at ₹25200 on NCDEX in the first hour of trade on Tuesday against the previous close of ₹25275, down 0.30 per cent.
