
First indirect Hamas-Israel ceasefire talks ended inconclusively, Palestinian sources say
The talks resumed on Sunday, ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's third visit to the White House since U.S. President Donald Trump returned to power nearly six months ago.
'After the first session of indirect negotiations in Doha, the Israeli delegation is not sufficiently authorized ... to reach an agreement with Hamas, as it has no real powers,' the sources told Reuters.
Netanyahu said, before his departure to Washington, that Israeli negotiators taking part in the ceasefire talks have clear instructions to achieve a ceasefire agreement under conditions that Israel has accepted.
On Saturday evening, crowds gathered at a public square in Tel Aviv near the defence ministry headquarters to call for a ceasefire deal and the return of around 50 hostages still held in Gaza. The demonstrators waved Israeli flags, chanted and carried posters with photos of the hostages.
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.
Around 20 of the remaining hostages are believed to be still alive. A majority of the original hostages have been freed through diplomatic negotiations, though the Israeli military has also recovered some.
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 the population, mostly within Gaza, and left the territory in ruins.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Star
12 minutes ago
- The Star
Analysis-US SEC's guidance is first step toward rules governing crypto ETFs
(Reuters) -New U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission guidance on disclosure requirements for exchange-traded products tied to cryptocurrencies marked the first step toward approval of dozens of applications for ETFs linked to everything from Solana and XRP to President Donald Trump's eponymous meme coin. The guidance, issued last Tuesday, signaled a dramatic shift by Republican leadership in how the top U.S. markets regulator deals with the crypto sector. The SEC has launched a task force to draft new regulations, refocused its crypto enforcement team and paused or altogether walked away from high-profile enforcement cases that many thought the agency was winning. The 12-page document is the first part of the new landscape for crypto funds that SEC staff members are designing. Asset managers also anticipate guidance from the SEC's division of trading and markets on ways to streamline the application process, said people familiar with the discussions. This should accelerate the pace for new product debuts. "The SEC is moving forward on creating a framework for how they'd like to see all these crypto assets included in investment funds" to address the "explosion" in the number of ETFs now awaiting a regulatory verdict, said Sui Chung, CEO of crypto index provider CF Benchmarks. Industry participants said they saw few surprises so far. "The most interesting and important thing about this guidance is that it exists," said Matt Hougan, chief investment officer of Bitwise Asset Management, which has more than half a dozen crypto ETFs awaiting SEC approval. "It suggests that the SEC acknowledges that crypto ETPs are becoming part of the mainstream and so it's trying to lay down rules of the road to save both issuers and SEC staff time and hassle." The SEC guidance spells out that in order to be approved, issuers must clearly address, in "plain English", all factors that make crypto-based ETFs distinctive, such as custody arrangements and risks of the hyper-competitive landscape. The next document, however, is likely to prove more significant. According to several people familiar with the ongoing discussions, who could not speak publicly due to the confidentiality of those proceedings, the SEC staff is seeking to create a new listing template to replace the current need for exchanges to submit a special form each time they want to list a new crypto product. That form, known as a 19(b)4, asks for an exemption from current listing rules for the specific ETF. Eliminating that from the process could cut the time between filing and launch dates from as much as 240 days to only 75 days. "The SEC is looking for a general rule it can apply to all listings, and currently is going back and forth on precise wording with the exchanges," said a senior executive at one issuer, who added he expected that exchanges will submit that kind of general filing within "days or weeks." Officials at the Nasdaq Stock Market and Cboe declined to comment on these talks; the New York Stock Exchange did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for the SEC also declined comment on the discussions. While ETFs tied to the spot prices of everything from coins like XRP, Polkadot, Dogecoin and the Trump meme coin await an SEC verdict, issuers expect the next batch of crypto products will be tied to Solana,the world's sixth-largest cryptocurrency. That likely will not happen until after the SEC has rolled out the second part of its guidance, pushing the launch date into early autumn, issuers said. Some asset managers are not waiting. Last week, REX Financial and Osprey Funds used a more indirect and complex approach to launch the first U.S. ETF to give investors exposure to Solana, the REX-Osprey Sol + Staking ETF. In contrast to the half-dozen spot Solana ETFs awaiting approval, it invests in a separate entity that in turn will own both Solana and a non-U.S. Solana fund. That structure means REX can bypass the rules governing those commodity funds and leapfrog other issuers, as well as offering investors access to yield via the cryptocurrency "staking" mechanism. In staking, cryptocurrency holders volunteer to take part in validating transactions on the blockchain, checking that the ledger all adds up. In return, validators either receive a share of the transaction fees or newly created cryptocurrencies. "We do think the SEC is taking big steps forward in dealing with cryptocurrency, but it's still the SEC, and not everything has been codified yet," Greg King, CEO of REX Financial, told Reuters. King acknowledged he is trying to get a head start on what is expected to be a fiercely competitive race for market share on new Solana products. The new ETF pulled in $12 million of assets on its first day of trading on Wednesday, July 1, King said. "We'll probably do a spot Solana ETP too, once those rules are in place," he added. "There's no either/or in this situation." (Reporting by Suzanne McGee; additional reporting by Chris Prentice, Editing by Alden Bentley and David Gregorio)


The Sun
31 minutes ago
- The Sun
Israel strikes Huthi sites in Yemen amid escalating tensions
JERUSALEM: Israel confirmed a series of strikes on Huthi-controlled areas in Yemen, including key ports, following repeated missile attacks by the Iran-backed rebel group. The military operation targeted infrastructure in Hodeida, Ras Isa, and Salif, with Israel claiming the destruction of radar-equipped vessels used to monitor Red Sea shipping. The Huthis, who have launched missiles and drones at Israel since the Gaza war began in October 2023, retaliated by firing two missiles toward Israeli territory. Yehyaa Saree, a Huthi military spokesman, stated the attacks were in response to Israeli aggression, specifically targeting Ben Gurion airport and key Israeli ports. Among the sites hit was the Galaxy Leader cargo ship, seized by the Huthis in November 2023. Israel alleges the vessel was modified for surveillance purposes. The strikes occurred shortly after an Israeli military warning on social media, signalling a rapid escalation in hostilities. The Huthis, aligned with Palestinian factions, resumed attacks in March after Israel renewed its Gaza offensive. The group has also targeted commercial ships linked to Israel, the US, and Britain in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. A recent skiff attack forced a vessel's crew to abandon ship before being rescued. Despite a May ceasefire with the US, the Huthis maintain their campaign against Israeli-linked shipping. The UK Maritime Trade Operations confirmed the safety of rescued crew members, though no group claimed responsibility for the latest assault. - AFP


The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
India court rejects Turkey-based Celebi's airport security clearance, lawyer sources say
NEW DELHI (Reuters) -An Indian court rejected on Monday a plea by Turkey-based Celebi against a government order revoking the security clearance of the firm to provide aviation ground services in the South Asian nation, three lawyer sources said. Turkey came out in support of Pakistan during its military conflict with India in May, angering many Indians and prompting New Delhi to cancel Celebi's clearance in the "interest of national security". Celebi Airport Services India, in a May 16 filing seen by Reuters, asked the Delhi High Court to set aside that decision, arguing it would impact 3,791 jobs and investor confidence, and was issued without any warning to the company. The Delhi High Court rejected the company's plea on Monday to overturn the revoking of security clearance, three lawyers involved in the case told Reuters. More details of the court proceedings are expected to be published online. India argued that courts have previously held that in some cases national security concerns can outweigh the requirement of fairness. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said in May that airport ground operators have detailed access to the physical infrastructure as well as passenger details, including VIP movements. Celebi did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters. (Reporting by Arpan Chaturvedi, writing by Tanvi Mehta; Editing by YP Rajesh)