Talks on Gaza cease-fire and freeing more hostages as Hamas leader is in Egypt
Deir al-Balah (Gaza Strip), Dec 20: Hamas' top leader travelled to Cairo on Wednesday for talks on the war in Gaza, part of a flurry of diplomacy aimed at securing another cease-fire and swap of hostages for Palestinian prisoners at a moment when Israel's offensive shows no signs of slowing.
Hamas group have been putting up stiff resistance, even as the Israeli army claims to be making great progress in eradicating them. The visit to Cairo by its top leader, Ismail Haniyeh, came a day after Hamas fired rockets that set off air raid sirens in central Israel.
It was a show of strength after a 10-week war that has devastated much of northern Gaza, killed nearly 20,000 Palestinians, and driven some 1.9 million nearly 85% of the population from their homes.
Israel has called on the rest of the world to blacklist Hamas as a terrorist organization, saying it must be removed from power in Gaza in the wake of its Oct 7 rampage across southern Israel that triggered the war.
But the sides have recently relaunched indirect talks, mediated by Egypt, Qatar and the United States. The goal is to achieve another cease-fire, and to free more hostages Hamas took in its attack in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
"These are very serious discussions and negotiations, and we hope that they lead somewhere," the White House's national security spokesman, John Kirby, said Wednesday aboard Air Force One while travelling with President Joe Biden to Wisconsin.
Mobile phone and internet service was down across Gaza again on Wednesday, an outage that could complicate efforts to communicate with Hamas leaders inside the territory who went into hiding after Oct 7.
The war has led to a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Tens of thousands of people are crammed into overcrowded shelters and tent camps amid shortages of food, medicine and other basic supplies.
Israel's foreign minister travelled to Cyprus to discuss the possibility of establishing a maritime corridor that would allow the delivery of large amounts of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
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Over 270 flights delayed, 10 cancelled at Delhi airport
New Delhi (PTI): At least 10 flights were cancelled and more than 270 flights were delayed at the Delhi airport due to fog and low visibility conditions on Tuesday.
An official said 6 arrivals and 4 departures have been cancelled for the day.
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Over 270 flights have been delayed and the average delay time for departures is 29 minutes, as per information available on flight tracking website Flightradar24.com.
"Visibility at the airport is improving; however, flight departures for certain destinations may experience delay," Delhi airport operator DIAL said in a post on X.
The Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in the national capital handles around 1,300 flight movements daily.
