SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
A new round of talks for a cease-fire in the Gaza war wrapped up yesterday. Mediators from the United States, Egypt and Qatar said they are very close to an agreement. But Israel and Hamas, the combatants themselves, have not commented on the talks. The 10-month-old war has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to health officials there. Some 1,200 people were killed in the initial October 7 attack by Hamas-led forces that began the conflict, according to Israeli officials. NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi joins us from Tel Aviv. Hadeel, thanks so much for being with us.
HADEEL AL-SHALCHI, BYLINE: Of course.
SIMON: Where do we stand with the talks?
AL-SHALCHI: So international mediators said that they've presented a proposal that narrows the gap between Israel and Hamas. It's not the final deal, but they do say that this proposal is consistent with the plan President Biden presented back in May. They said that this coming week, a technical team will meet to iron out some sticking points, like the hostage-prisoner exchange, and figure out how to deliver humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza. They'll have that meeting in Cairo.
And, you know, there have been some hopes that a deal may be reached soon. There is something that feels a bit different about this round of talks, you know, some positivity. President Biden even said that, you know, they're not there yet, but it is the closest they've come to an agreement, but he didn't want to, quote, "jinx anything."
One of the big issues we're going to be keeping an eye on is what happens with this control of a strip of land along Gaza's border with Egypt called the Philadelphi Corridor. Israel took control of it in May, and Hamas wants a withdrawal from it. They're also trying to figure out a system to screen Palestinians returning into north Gaza so that only unarmed civilians go through.
And, you know, these talks have been very important, but this round is especially critical because it comes after the killing of Hamas' leader a couple of weeks ago in Tehran, widely presumed that Israel was behind it. So we've kind of all been holding our breath to see if Iran retaliates with its own strike, and a positive deal may ward that off.
SIMON: And on Friday, the first case of polio was announced in Gaza by health officials. The World Health Organization has called for their own seven-day pause of the war to vaccinate children. Could that happen?
AL-SHALCHI: You know, we'll really have to wait and see on this one. Yesterday, the United Nations secretary-general asked for this mini cease-fire and said they want to go in to vaccinate at least 64,000 kids. He said the WHO approved the release of 1.6 million doses of polio vaccine to medical teams. And the Israeli government said it will work with the WHO on the vaccination campaign. You know, Gaza has been polio-free for 25 years, according to the U.N.
The thing is, aid workers have been saying that it's been nearly impossible, in some cases, to deliver lifesaving supplies like vaccines into Gaza because there hasn't been a guarantee for their safety when they enter the strip. They've also had trouble getting medical supplies like refrigerators and fuel into Gaza because many times, the Israeli military who inspect the trucks bringing that stuff in will turn them back if they find one thing on them that they think could be used as a weapon. So even if they do agree to a pause of the war for a week for this vaccination campaign, it'll take a bit of effort to organize.
SIMON: And, Hadeel, some Israeli settlers went on a rampage Thursday in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and killed a Palestinian. This time, some far-right Israeli politicians condemned the attacks, and that's not very common, is it?
AL-SHALCHI: Yeah. Exactly. So what happened is there was dozens of settlers, many wearing masks, and they stormed a village near Nablus, shooting live ammunition, burning homes and cars. The United Nations says settler violence in the West Bank has doubled since the war in Gaza started in October. And in this case, the Israeli military was called in to break up the crowd, and they called it a serious incident that would be investigated. The military also said that they arrested one Israeli civilian. According to rights groups, arrests and prosecutions are pretty rare in this case. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also denounced the violence, saying that he took the riot seriously. But then, even far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich condemned the attacks. He's an ultranationalist settler himself, who has been using his political powers to push for expanding settlements in the West Bank. But this time, he called the violent settlers criminals.
SIMON: NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi in Tel Aviv. Thanks so much.
AL-SHALCHI: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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