Gaza ceasefire talks held up by Israel withdrawal plans: Palestinian sources
Delegations from both sides began discussions in Qatar last Sunday to try to agree on a temporary halt to the 21-month conflict sparked by Hamas' attack on Israel on Oct 7, 2023.
Both Hamas and Israel have said that 10 living hostages who were taken that day and who are still in captivity would be released if an agreement for a 60-day ceasefire were reached.
But one well-informed Palestinian source said Israel's refusal to withdraw all of its troops from Gaza was holding back progress on securing a deal.
"The negotiations in Doha are facing a setback and complex difficulties due to Israel's insistence, as of Friday, on presenting a map of withdrawal, which is actually a map of redeployment and repositioning of the Israeli army rather than a genuine withdrawal," the source said.
Hamas has said it wants the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, which is home to more than two million people.
The source said, however, that the Israeli delegation presented a map at the talks which proposed maintaining military forces in more than 40 per cent of the Palestinian territory.
"Hamas' delegation will not accept the Israeli maps ... as they essentially legitimise the reoccupation of approximately half of the Gaza Strip and turn Gaza into isolated zones with no crossings or freedom of movement," the source added.
Mediators have asked both sides to postpone the talks until the arrival of US President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, in Doha, they added.
A second Palestinian source said "some progress" had been made on plans for releasing Palestinian prisoners and getting more aid to Gaza.
But they accused the Israeli delegation of having no authority, and "stalling and obstructing the agreement in order to continue the war of extermination".
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Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Israeli strikes kill over 30 as truce talks deadlocked, says Gaza civil defence
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Delegations from both sides have now spent a week trying to agree on a temporary truce to halt 21 months of fighting. – Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli air strikes on July 13 killed more than 30 Palestinians, including children at a water distribution point, as talks for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas stalled. Delegations from Israel and the Palestinian militant group have now spent a week trying to agree on a temporary truce to halt 21 months of bitter fighting in the Gaza Strip. But on July 12, each side accused the other of blocking attempts to secure an agreement at the indirect talks in the Qatari capital Doha. Meanwhile, there has been no let-up in Israeli strikes on Gaza, where most of the population of more than two million have been displaced at least once during the war. Seven UN agencies on July 12 warned that a fuel shortage had reached 'critical levels' , threatening aid operations, hospital care and already chronic food insecurity. The civil defence agency said at least 31 people were killed in Israeli strikes overnight and into the morning. Eight people were killed in strikes on houses in Gaza City, in the north, agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Govt will continue to support families, including growing group of seniors: PM Wong at PCF Family Day Singapore From Normal stream to Parliament: 3 Singapore politicians share their journeys Business 29 Jollibean workers get help from MOM, other agencies, over unpaid salaries Singapore Segregated recycling bins found to lower contamination rate as more spring up Asia Mahathir discharged from hospital after feeling fatigued during birthday gathering Singapore Medics treat 7 after blaze at HDB block lift lobby in Chai Chee Singapore Government looking at enhancing laws around vaping to tackle issue of drug-laced vapes in Singapore Singapore I lost my daughter to Kpod addiction: Father of 19-year-old shares heartbreak and lessons In the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, 10 people were killed in a strike on a house while 10 others, including eight children, were killed at a water distribution point, Mr Bassal said. 'We woke up to the sound of two large explosions,' Mr Khaled Rayyan told AFP after a house was flattened in Nuseirat. 'Our neighbour and his children were under the rubble.' Another resident, Mr Mahmud al-Shami, called on the negotiators to secure an end to the war. 'What happened to us has never happened in the entire history of humanity,' he said. 'Enough.' In southern Gaza, three people were killed when Israeli jets hit a tent sheltering displaced Palestinians in the coastal Al-Mawasi area, according to the civil defence spokesman. Forced displacement fears There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which has recently intensified its operations across Gaza. On July 12, the military said fighter jets had hit more than 35 'Hamas terror targets' around Beit Hanun in northern Gaza. Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency and other parties. The war was sparked by Hamas's Oct 7, 2023, attack on Israel that led to 1,219 deaths, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Out of 251 people taken hostage that day, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 that the Israeli military says are dead. Hamas-run Gaza's health ministry says that at least 57,882 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in Israel's military reprisals. The United Nations considers the figures reliable. Talks to agree a 60-day ceasefire in the fighting and hostage release were in the balance on July 12 after Israel and Hamas accused each other of trying to block a deal. Hamas wants the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, but a Palestinian source with knowledge of the talks said Israel had presented plans to maintain troops in more than 40 per cent of the territory. The source said Israel wanted to force hundreds of thousands of Palestinians into the south of Gaza 'in preparation for forcibly displacing them to Egypt or other countries'. A senior Israeli official said Israel had demonstrated 'a willingness to flexibility in the negotiations, while Hamas remains intransigent, clinging to positions that prevent the mediators from advancing an agreement'. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he is prepared to enter talks for a more lasting end to hostilities once a temporary truce is agreed, but only if Hamas disarms. Thousands of people gathered in Israel's coastal hub of Tel Aviv on July 12 calling for the release of the hostages. 'The window of opportunity... is open now and it won't be for long,' said former captive Eli Sharabi. AFP
CNA
5 hours ago
- CNA
Gaza civil defence says Israeli strikes kill at least 29
GAZA CITY: Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli air strikes on Sunday (Jul 13) killed at least 29 Palestinians, including six children near a water distribution point. The attacks came with apparent deadlock in a week of indirect talks in Qatar between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas for a ceasefire in the territory. Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that Gaza City was hit by several strikes overnight and in the early morning, killing eight, "including women and children" and wounding others. An Israeli air strike hit a family home near the Nuseirat refugee camp, south of Gaza City, resulting in "10 martyrs and several injured", Bassal said. In central Gaza, six children were among eight people killed when a drone "hit a potable water distribution point in an area for displaced people" in the Nuseirat camp, he added. Several other people were wounded, he said. In the territory's south, three people were killed when Israeli jets hit a tent sheltering displaced Palestinians in the coastal Al-Mawasi area, according to the civil defence spokesman. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which has recently intensified its operations across Gaza, more than 21 months into the war triggered by Hamas's October 2023 attack. On Saturday, the military said fighter jets had hit more than 35 "Hamas terror targets" around Beit Hanun in northern Gaza. The vast majority of Gaza's population of more than two million people have been displaced at least once during the war, which has created dire humanitarian conditions in the territory. Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency and other parties.
AsiaOne
11 hours ago
- AsiaOne
Gaza truce talks faltering over withdrawal; 17 reported killed in latest shooting near aid, World News
CAIRO/JERUSALEM/GAZA - Progress is stalling at talks aimed at securing a ceasefire in Gaza, with the sides divided over the extent of Israeli forces' withdrawal from the Palestinian enclave, Palestinian and Israeli sources familiar with the negotiations in Doha said on Saturday (July 12). The indirect talks over a US proposal for a 60-day ceasefire continued throughout Saturday, an Israeli official told Reuters, seven days since talks began. US President Donald Trump has said he hoped for a breakthrough soon based on a new US-backed ceasefire proposal. In Gaza, medics said 17 people trying to get food aid were killed on Saturday when Israeli troops opened fire, the latest mass shooting around a US-backed aid distribution system that the UN says has resulted in 800 people killed in six weeks. Witnesses who spoke to Reuters described people being shot in the head and torso. Reuters saw several bodies of victims wrapped in white shrouds as family members wept at Nasser Hospital. The Israeli military said its troops had fired warning shots, but that its review of the incident had found no evidence of anyone hurt by its soldiers' fire. Delegations from Israel and Hamas have been in Qatar pushing for an agreement which envisages a phased release of hostages, Israeli troop withdrawals and discussions on ending the war. The Israeli official blamed the impasse on Hamas, which he said "remains stubborn, sticking to positions that do not allow the mediators to advance an agreement". Hamas has previously blamed Israeli demands for blocking a deal. A Palestinian source said that Hamas had rejected withdrawal maps which Israel had proposed that would leave around 40 per cent of Gaza under Israeli control, including all of the southern area of Rafah and further territories in northern and eastern Gaza. Two Israeli sources said Hamas wanted Israel to retreat to lines it held in a previous ceasefire before it renewed its offensive in March. The Palestinian source said aid issues and guarantees on an end to the war were also presenting a challenge. The crisis could be resolved with more US intervention, the source said. Hamas has long demanded an agreement to end the war before it would free remaining hostages; Israel has insisted it would end the fighting only when all hostages are released and Hamas is dismantled as a fighting force and administration in Gaza. Shooting Saturday's reported mass shooting near an aid distribution point in Rafah was the latest in a series of such incidents that the United Nations rights office said on Friday had seen at least 798 people killed trying to get food in six weeks. "We were sitting there, and suddenly there was shooting towards us. For five minutes we were trapped under fire. The shooting was targeted. It was not random. Some people were shot in the head, some in the torso, one guy next to me was shot directly in the heart," eyewitness Mahmoud Makram told Reuters. "There is no mercy there, no mercy. People go because they are hungry but they die and come back in body bags." After partially lifting a total blockade of all goods into Gaza in late May, Israel launched a new aid distribution system, relying on a group backed by the United States to distribute food under the protection of Israeli troops. The United Nations has rejected the system as inherently dangerous and a violation of humanitarian neutrality principles. Israel says it is necessary to keep militants from diverting aid. The war began on Oct 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages into Gaza. At least 20 of the remaining 50 hostages there are believed to still be alive. Israel's campaign against Hamas has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities, displaced almost the entire population of more than two million people, sparked a humanitarian crisis and left much of the territory in ruins. Thousands of Israelis rallied in central Tel Aviv on Saturday demanding a deal that would release all remaining hostages being held by Hamas. Protester Boaz Levi told Reuters here was there to pressure the government, "to get to a hostage deal as soon as possible because our friends, brothers, are in Gaza and it's about the time to end this war. That is why we are here." [[nid:720064]]
