Former Ambassador Anil Trigunayat emphasised on Monday the significance of hostages in the current state of war between Israel and Hamas, while also highlighting the war's potential to expand into a larger regional conflict. Furthermore, the diplomat pointed out that wars have a tendency to escalate beyond their intended scope, often due to the smallest miscalculations or errors in judgment.

“At the moment, I think everybody is interested that it does not become a larger regional war. But, as we all know, wars can go beyond their intended outreach at any time with the smallest mistake, and it is quite possible that it can go further already. The international community has completely failed, and the United Nations has become totally ineffective. We have seen what kind of things are happening, so there is nobody at the moment who can control this war. This will continue, and Israel wants to take it to its logical conclusion. But as I said, the fate of the hostages will be a very important factor in this war," Trigunayat told CNBC-TV18.

Kadira Pethiyagoda, a former diplomat, holds the view that Qatar wields a reasonable degree of influence over Hamas. He points out that the Hamas leadership is located in Doha, where they have been given a safe haven. Qatar also provides substantial financial aid to Gaza.

"The Hamas leadership is based in Doha; they have given them a safe haven. They provide a lot of funding to Gaza in terms of aid. But I think that is not complete leverage, in the sense that Hamas also has backing from completely separate sources, including Iran, and, at this stage, Hezbollah is an important actor as well.”

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However, Pethiyagoda also acknowledged that while Qatar plays a crucial role in negotiations due to its relationships with Iran, the United States, and Hamas, it doesn't possess complete control or leverage over the Gaza-based militant outfit.

Israel expanded its military assault deeper into the northern Gaza Strip as the United Nations and medical staff expressed fears over airstrikes hitting closer to hospitals, where tens of thousands of Palestinians have sought shelter alongside thousands of wounded. Relief workers said the largest convoy of humanitarian aid to arrive in Gaza still fell far short of its needs.

The Palestinian death toll in the Israel-Hamas war has reached 8,306, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza. In the West Bank, more than 110 Palestinians have been killed in violence and Israeli raids.

More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, most of them civilians slain in the initial Hamas rampage that started the fighting on October 7. In addition, 239 hostages were taken from Israel into Gaza by the militant group.

Yesterday, around 33 aid trucks carrying humanitarian aid reached Gaza from Egypt's Rafah border, the largest since the conflict began. Thousands of Gaza residents broke into the UN warehouses to get hold of essential items.

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(Edited by : Ajay Vaishnav)