Calls for restraint have multiplied but months of similar calls for Gaza failed to bring a ceasefire.
Hezbollah began strikes on Israeli troops a day after Hamas staged its Oct 7 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures that include hostages killed in captivity.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed at least 41,788 people, the majority of them civilians, according to figures provided by the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The UN has described the figures as reliable.
The University of Melbourne’s Pratt does not foresee Gaza ceasefire talks resuming anytime soon.
“I think, to the surprise of many, it appears the Israeli government has effectively sacrificed the lives of the remaining hostages, in the name of its wars, both in Gaza and now in Lebanon,” he added.
“There might have been the possibility of a conclusion to both the conflict in Gaza and in Lebanon via a hostage and ceasefire deal, but negotiations for this haven’t really progressed at all for a couple of months at this point.
“I don’t think that there’s any indication that they’ll resume or conclude in a positive direction.”
