Israel to send delegation to Gaza talks despite ‘unacceptable' Hamas demands
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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 finalise' a 60-day truce.
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.
'The changes that Hamas seeks to make to the Qatari proposal were conveyed to us last night and are not acceptable to Israel,' Netanyahu's office said in a statement late on Saturday.
The prime minister's office added that the delegation will still fly to Qatar for talks over a possible deal to 'continue the efforts to secure the return of our hostages based on the Qatari proposal that Israel agreed to'.
A sticker reading 'Netanyahu's Holocaust' in Hebrew is displayed above a banner depicting the Israeli prime minister during an anti-government protest in Tel Aviv on Saturday. Photo: AFP
Netanyahu, who is due to meet Trump in Washington on Monday, 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.
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