Crucial Gaza ceasefire talks resume in Doha ahead of Netanyahu's US visit
The talks come two days after Hamas gave a 'positive' response to a proposed ceasefire and hostage deal that envisages a 60-day truce, the release of 10 living hostages held by the group as well the remains of 18 others who died in captivity, according to a draft text of the deal seen by The National.
If a deal is reached in the coming hours, US President Donald Trump is expected to announce the ceasefire on Monday, sources told The National. The announcement will include a call on Hamas to lay down its arms and for its leaders to leave the war-torn enclave and live in exile, they added.
'He will call on Hamas to lay down its arms and release all the hostages if it wants a permanent ceasefire,' one source said.
The proposals include a provision for discussions on the end of the war and Israel's withdrawal from Gaza to begin as soon as the truce comes into effect.
An Israeli negotiating team, led by a top official from the domestic Shin Bet security agency, arrived in Doha on Sunday. Also travelling there are officials from Israel's Mossad spy agency, the army's department in charge of hostages and an aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Egypt, which together with the US and Qatar have for months been trying to broker a Gaza ceasefire, was represented by senior officials from its intelligence agency, which has for years been in charge of the Palestinian file, according to the sources.
The US 's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff is expected in Doha later on Sunday, they added. Hamas negotiators are led by Khalil Al Hayya.
Mr Netanyahu is also set to depart for Washington on Sunday to meet US President Donald Trump, with Gaza expected to dominate discussions in their White House meeting on Monday.
Mr Trump renewed the push to end the war in Gaza that has been raging since October 2023. He has pledged to be firm with Mr Netanyahu and has expressed the hope that the momentum of the ceasefire between Israel and Iran can be used to secure a truce in the Palestinian enclave.
Seeking assurances
Hamas on Friday said while it has given a positive response to the proposed deal it also wanted 'assurances' on the implementation of some aspects of it.
'The changes that Hamas is seeking to make in the Qatari proposal were conveyed to us last night and are unacceptable to Israel,' a statement from Mr Netanyahu's office said late on Saturday.
'In light of an assessment of the situation, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has directed that the invitation to proximity talks be accepted and that the contacts for the return of our hostages – on the basis of the Qatari proposal that Israel has agreed to – be continued,' the statement added.
Hamas said it was seeking guarantees from Mr Trump that the war in Gaza would come to a complete end. It is also seeking a timeline for the redeployment of Israeli forces away from the routes that will be used to deliver humanitarian aid during the 60-day truce, said the sources.
It is also seeking assurances that the UN and affiliated agencies will be allowed to resume their decades-old role in delivering and distributing food in Gaza, where hundreds of thousands are facing hunger and the shortage of other basic items, they said.
'We submitted our positive response to the mediators yesterday. A new round of negotiations is expected to begin, focusing on the core issues: Israeli withdrawal and an end to the war,' a Hamas official told The National on Saturday.
The ceasefire efforts come amid continuing Israeli attacks on Gaza and as Palestinians struggle for limited aid supplies.
The US on Saturday blamed Hamas for an attack that injured two American aid workers from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
The US and Israeli-backed GHF said the injured Americans were receiving medical treatment and were in stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries.
'The attack – which preliminary information indicates was carried out by two assailants who threw two grenades at the Americans – occurred at the conclusion of an otherwise successful distribution in which thousands of Gazans safely received food,' the GHF said.
US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce blamed 'Hamas terrorists' for the attack.
The Gaza war was sparked by a Hamas-led attack on communities in southern Israel on October 7, 2023. The attacks left 1,200 people dead. Another 250 were taken hostage.
It drew a devastating military response from Israel that has to date killed more than 57,000 Palestinians and wounded more than twice that number, according to health authorities in Gaza.
Most of Gaza's approximately two million residents have been displaced by the fighting, more than once in many cases. Israel has also razed large built-up areas of Gaza.
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