French President Macron and Malaysian PM reaffirm calls for Gaza ceasefire
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Arab News
2 hours ago
- Arab News
Israel to send delegation to Qatar for Gaza ceasefire talks
Israel has decided to send a delegation to Qatar for talks on a possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, an Israeli official said, reviving hopes of a breakthrough in negotiations to end the almost 21-month war. Palestinian group Hamas said on Friday it had responded to a US-backed Gaza ceasefire proposal in a 'positive spirit,' a few days after US President Donald Trump said Israel had agreed 'to the necessary conditions to finalize' a 60-day truce. The Israeli negotiation delegation will fly to Qatar on Sunday, the Israeli official, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, told Reuters. But in a sign of the potential challenges still facing the two sides, a Palestinian official from a militant group allied with Hamas said concerns remained over humanitarian aid, passage through the Rafah crossing in southern Israel to Egypt and clarity over a timetable for Israeli troop withdrawals. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is due to meet Trump in Washington on Monday, has yet to comment on Trump's announcement, and in their public statements Hamas and Israel remain far apart. Netanyahu has repeatedly said Hamas must be disarmed, a position the militant group, which is thought to be holding 20 living hostages, has so far refused to discuss. Israeli media said on Friday that Israel had received and was reviewing Hamas' response to the ceasefire proposal. The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered on October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Gaza's health ministry says Israel's retaliatory military assault on the enclave has killed over 57,000 Palestinians. It has also caused a hunger crisis, displaced Gaza's entire population internally and prompted accusations of genocide and war crimes. Israel denies the accusations.
Arab News
4 hours ago
- Arab News
French writer Sansal jailed in Algeria still hopeful of pardon, supporters say
PARIS: French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal will not appeal his five-year prison sentence to Algeria's Supreme Court, sources close to the author said on Saturday, adding that they remain hopeful for a pardon. The 80-year-old dual-national writer was sentenced to five years behind bars on March 27 on charges related to undermining Algeria's territorial integrity over comments made to a French media outlet. 'According to our information, he will not appeal to the Supreme Court,' the president of the author's support committee, Noelle Lenoir, told broadcaster France Inter on Saturday. 'Moreover, given the state of the justice system in Algeria ... he has no chance of having his offense reclassified on appeal,' the former European affairs minister said. 'This means that the sentence is final.' Sources close to Sansal said that the writer had 'given up his right to appeal.' His French lawyer, Pierre Cornut-Gentille, declined to comment. France's Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said earlier this week that he hoped Algeria would pardon the author, whose family has highlighted his treatment for prostate cancer. However, Sansal was not among the thousands pardoned by Algeria's president on Friday, the eve of the country's Independence Day. 'We believe he will be released. It is impossible for Algeria to take responsibility for his death in prison,' Lenoir said, adding she was 'remaining hopeful.' A prize-winning figure in North African modern francophone literature, Sansal is known for his criticism of Algerian authorities. The case against him arose after he told the far-right outlet Frontieres that France had unjustly transferred Moroccan territory to Algeria during the colonial period, from 1830 to 1962 — a claim that Algeria views as a challenge to its sovereignty and aligns with longstanding Moroccan territorial assertions. Sansal was detained in November 2024 upon arrival at Algiers airport. On March 27, a court in Dar El Beida sentenced him to a five-year prison term and fined him 500,000 Algerian dinars ($3,730). Appearing in court without legal counsel on June 24, Sansal stated that the case against him 'makes no sense,' as 'the Algerian constitution guarantees freedom of expression and conscience.' The writer's conviction has further strained tense France-Algeria relations, which have been complicated by issues such as migration and France's recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, a disputed territory claimed by the Algeria-backed Polisario Front.
Al Arabiya
6 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Israel to send delegation to Qatar for Gaza ceasefire talks: Report
Israel has decided to send a delegation to Qatar for talks on a possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, Israel's Channel 12 reported on Saturday, citing a senior Israeli official. It was unclear whether the delegation would fly to Qatar on Saturday or Sunday. Israel was considering its response on Saturday after Hamas said it was ready to start talks ' immediately ' on a US-sponsored proposal for a Gaza ceasefire. The security cabinet was expected to meet after the end of the Jewish sabbath at sundown to discuss Israel's next steps, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepared to head to Washington for talks on Monday with US President Donald Trump. Trump has been making a renewed push to end nearly 21 months of war in Gaza, where the civil defense agency said 35 people were killed in Israeli military operations on Saturday. 'No decision has been made yet on that issue,' an Israeli government official told AFP when asked about Hamas's positive response to the latest ceasefire proposal. Hamas made its announcement late Friday after holding consultations with other Palestinian factions. 'The movement is ready to engage immediately and seriously in a cycle of negotiations on the mechanism to put in place' the US-backed truce proposal, the militant group said in a statement. Two Palestinian sources close to the discussions told AFP that 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. Hamas ally Islamic Jihad said it supported ceasefire talks, but demanded guarantees that Israel 'will not resume its aggression' once hostages held in Gaza are freed. Trump, when asked about Hamas's response aboard Air Force One, said: 'That's good. They haven't briefed me on it. We have to get it over with. We have to do something about Gaza.' The war in Gaza began with Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel, which sparked a massive Israeli offensive in the territory that aimed to destroy Hamas and bring home all the hostages seized by Palestinian militants. Two previous ceasefires mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States secured temporary halts in fighting and the return of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. 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. 'Comprehensive deal' The Egyptian foreign ministry said Saturday that top diplomat Badr Abdelatty held a phone call with Washington's main representative in the truce talks, Steve Witkoff, to discuss recent developments 'and preparations for holding indirect meetings between the two parties concerned to reach an agreement.' Meanwhile, ahead of its weekly protest demanding the return of the hostages, the main group representing their families renewed its call for a negotiated agreement to bring them home. 'This is the hour to bring about a comprehensive deal that will guarantee the return of the last hostage,' the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said. But 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 guarantees of a lasting ceasefire. Nearly 21 months of war have created dire humanitarian conditions for the more than two million people in the Gaza Strip, where Israel has recently expanded its military operations. 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. The group said two of its US staff members were wounded 'in a targeted terrorist attack' at one of its aid centers in southern Gaza's Khan Yunis on Saturday, adding that reports indicated a pair of assailants 'threw two grenades at the Americans.' The Israeli military said it had evacuated the injured. UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the GHF over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives. Its operations have been marred by near-daily reports of Israeli fire on people waiting to collect rations. 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. But GHF chairman Johnnie Moore, a Christian evangelical leader allied to Trump, on Wednesday rejected calls for the lead role in Gaza aid distributions to revert to UN agencies, saying: 'We will not be shut down.' Civil defense says 35 killed Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal said Israeli military operations killed 35 people across Gaza on Saturday. 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 defense agency. Contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said it could not comment on specific strikes without precise coordinates. 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 57,338 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the territory's health ministry. The United Nations considers the figures reliable.
