Gaza truce talks to resume in Doha before Netanyahu heads to US

Khaleej Times

2 days ago

Indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas are set to resume on Sunday in Doha for a Gaza truce and hostage release deal, ahead of a visit by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House.
Netanyahu had earlier announced he was sending a team to Qatar, a key mediator in the conflict, though he said Hamas's response to a draft US-backed ceasefire deal contained "unacceptable" demands.
Under mounting pressure to end the war, now approaching its 22nd month, Netanyahu is scheduled to meet on Monday with US President Donald Trump, who has been making a renewed push to end the fighting.
A Palestinian official familiar with the talks and close to Hamas said international mediators had informed the group that "a new round of indirect negotiations... will begin in Doha today".
The group's delegation, led by its top negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, had already arrived in the Qatari capital, the official told AFP.
On Friday, Hamas had said it was ready "to engage immediately and seriously" in negotiations.
Netanyahu, who confirmed Israeli negotiators were also en route, said that "the changes that Hamas is seeking to make in the Qatari proposal... are unacceptable to Israel".
Hamas has not publicly disclosed its response to the US-backed proposal, relayed by mediators from Qatar and Egypt.
In Tel Aviv on Saturday, protesters gathered for a weekly rally demanding the return of hostages held in Gaza since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack, which triggered the war.
Macabit Mayer, the aunt of captives Gali and Ziv Berman, called for a deal "that saves everyone".
'Enough'
Two Palestinian sources close to the discussions told AFP the proposal included a 60-day truce, during which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and several bodies in exchange for Palestinians detained by Israel.
However, they said, the group was also demanding certain conditions for Israel's withdrawal, guarantees against a resumption of fighting during negotiations, and the return of the UN-led aid distribution system.
On the ground, Gaza's civil defence agency said 14 people were killed by Israeli forces on Sunday.
The agency said 10 were killed in a pre-dawn strike on Gaza City's Sheikh Radawn neighbourhood, where AFP images showed Palestinians searching through the rubble for survivors with their bare hands.
Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency.
Contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said it could not comment on specific strikes without precise coordinates.
Sheikh Radawn resident Osama al-Hanawi told AFP: "The rest of the family is still under the rubble."
"We are losing young people, families and children every day, and this must stop now. Enough blood has been shed."
Since the Hamas attack sparked a massive Israeli offensive with the aim of destroying the group, mediators have brokered two temporary halts in fighting, during which hostages were freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody.
Of the 251 hostages taken by Palestinian militants during the October 2023 attack, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.
Recent efforts to broker a new truce have repeatedly failed, with the primary point of contention being Israel's rejection of Hamas's demand for a lasting ceasefire.
'Dying for flour'
The war has created dire humanitarian conditions for the more than two million people in the Gaza Strip.
Karima al-Ras, from Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, said "we hope that a truce will be announced" to allow in more aid.
"People are dying for flour," she said.
A US- and Israel-backed group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, took the lead in food distribution in the territory in late May, when Israel partially lifted a more than two-month blockade on aid deliveries.
UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the GHF over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.
UN human rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said Friday that more than 500 people have been killed waiting to access food from GHF distribution points.
The Hamas attack of October 2023 resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 57,418 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The United Nations considers the figures reliable.