Israel to send team to Gaza talks despite Hamas demands, PM says
In Gaza itself, the Hamas-run Civil Defence agency said Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least 35 Palestinians on Saturday.Seven people were killed, including a doctor and his three children, when tents in the al-Mawasi area were bombed, according to a hospital in the nearby city of Khan Younis.Meanwhile, two American employees of the controversial aid distribution organisation backed by Israel and the US - the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) - were wounded in what it said was a grenade attack at its site in the Khan Younis area. The Israeli and US governments both blamed Hamas, which has not commented.
Late on Saturday, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office said in a statement that "the changes that Hamas is seeking to make" to the ceasefire proposal were "unacceptable to Israel".But it added: "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 negotiating team will leave tomorrow."Earlier, an Israeli official had briefed local media that there was "something to work with" in the way that Hamas had responded.Mediators are likely to have their work cut out to bridge the remaining gaps at the indirect talks in Doha.Watching them closely will be President Trump, who has been talking up the chances of an agreement in recent days.On Friday, before he was briefed on Hamas's response, he said it was "good" that the group was positive and that "there could be a Gaza deal next week".Trump is due to meet Netanyahu on Monday, and it is clear that he would very much like to be able to announce a significant breakthrough then.The families of Israeli hostages and Palestinians in Gaza will also once again be holding their breath.Hostages' relatives and thousands of their supporters attended a rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday night to call for a comprehensive deal that would bring home all of the hostages.Among those who spoke was Yechiel Yehoud. His daughter Arbel Yehoud was released from captivity during the last ceasefire, which Trump helped to broker before he took office and which collapsed when Israel resumed its offensive in March."President Trump, thank you for bringing our Arbel back to us. We will be indebted to you for the rest of our lives. Please don't stop, please make a 'big beautiful hostages deal'," he said.
On Tuesday, the US president said that Israel had accepted the "necessary conditions" for a 60-day ceasefire, during which the parties would work to end the war.The plan is believed to include the staggered release of 10 living Israeli hostages by Hamas and the bodies of 18 other hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.Fifty hostages are still being held in Gaza, at least 20 of whom are believed to be alive.The proposal also reportedly says sufficient quantities of aid would enter Gaza immediately with the involvement of the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross.A senior Palestinian official familiar with the talks told the BBC on Friday that Hamas was demanding aid be distributed exclusively by the UN and its partners, and that the GHF's operations end immediately.Another amendment demanded by Hamas was about Israeli troop withdrawals, according to the official.The US proposal is believed to include phased Israeli pull-outs from parts of Gaza. But the official said Hamas wanted troops to return to the positions they held before the last ceasefire collapsed in March, when Israel resumed its offensive.The official said Hamas also wanted a US guarantee that Israeli air and ground operations would not resume even if the ceasefire ended without a permanent truce.The proposal is believed to say mediators will guarantee that serious negotiations will take place from day one, and that they can extend the ceasefire if necessary.The Israeli prime minister has ruled out ending the war until all of the hostages are released and Hamas's military and governing capabilities are destroyed.Far-right members of his cabinet have also expressed their opposition to the proposed deal.National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said on Saturday that the only way to secure the return of the hostages was the "full conquest of the Gaza Strip, a complete halt to so-called 'humanitarian' aid, and the encouragement of emigration" of the Palestinian population.The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the 7 October 2023 attack, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.At least 57,338 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.
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Telegraph
26 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Not even Trump can stand in Netanyahu's way
Payback will be the sentiment uppermost in Donald Trump's mind when he hosts the Israeli premier in Washington this week. In return for providing vital military support for Israel's military assault on Iran's nuclear programme, Trump will expect Benjamin Netanyahu's unequivocal support for his Gaza ceasefire plan. The Israeli military may have carried out a highly impressive operation to destroy and degrade Iran's key nuclear facilities, as well as liquidating several top nuclear scientists and commanders in the regime's intelligence and security establishment, but not even the Israelis could summon the firepower to take out two of Iran's key nuclear targets, the underground enrichment facilities at Natanz and Fordow. Trump's decision, therefore, to authorise US air strikes against the heavily-fortified compounds, using fourteen 30,000lb Massive Ordnance Penetrators (MOPS) to destroy the facilities, provided a vital boost to the Israeli offensive. And even though the jury is still out about how much damage the Americans inflicted on Iran's nuclear programme – there are already suggestions that Iran has resumed work on enriching uranium – Trump clearly believes his military contribution helped the Israelis to achieve their military objectives in Operation Rising Lion, their codename for the Iran attack. Now, having forced Tehran and Jerusalem to observe a ceasefire, Trump has turned his attention to Gaza. This is a president who, after all, has set his sights on winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Ending the war in Gaza – together with resolving the conflict in Ukraine – have been two of Trump's main foreign policy objectives since returning to the White House. While his efforts in Ukraine have been frustrated by Putin's marked lack of interest in a ceasefire, the White House has enjoyed a modicum of success in Gaza, where it did succeed in establishing a short-lived break in the fighting earlier this year. The most notable elements of that deal were the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, and the easing of humanitarian aid for Gaza's battered civilian population. The ceasefire collapsed at the end of March amid mutual recriminations, with Israel resuming its military offensive against Hamas terrorists. Buoyed by his successful intervention in the Israel-Iran conflict, Trump believes now is the time to strike a new ceasefire deal, which would be based on similar terms to the previous agreement implemented earlier this year. In return for the staggered release of Israeli hostages – both dead and alive – hundreds of Palestinian prisoners will be freed from Israeli jails, aid supplies will resume and Israel will be expected to begin a phased withdrawal from territory it has occupied in the enclave. While Netanyahu can be expected to accept the hostages-for-prisoners formula, and ease aid restrictions, he will be more resistant to the notion of any military withdrawal from Gaza so long as any vestige remains intact. Thus, while Trump has sought to pre-empt the outcome of his meeting with Netanyahu by announcing that Israel has already agreed to the 'necessary conditions' to finalise a 60-day ceasefire, there will nonetheless be concerns at the White House that the Israeli premier will not be prepared to commit to any form of military withdrawal until Hamas's presence in Gaza has been fully eradicated. This was Israel's key military objective in the wake of the October 7 attacks in 2023, and remains so to this day. While the US and Israel have forged an effective alliance in combatting Iran's nuclear infrastructure, on a personal level tensions remain between Trump and Netanyahu, who have not always enjoyed the easiest of relationships. Trump has privately accused Netanyahu of being ungrateful for the backing he receives from Washington, especially after the key role Trump played during his first term negotiating the Abraham Accords, which saw several Arab states normalise relations with Israel. These tensions memorably erupted in public after Trump accused both Israel and Iran of breaching the ceasefire terms he arranged at the end of the Iran conflict in June, claiming that they 'don't know what the f*** they are doing'. Using expletives to describe Iran's conduct is nothing new for Trump – he used the F-word about Iran in 2020. But using it in relation to a country that is supposed to be one of Washington's closest allies showed that not even Netanyahu is immune from Trump's temper tantrums. The risk of upsetting Trump, and provoking one of his famous Oval Office outbursts, will therefore be one of Netanyahu's foremost concerns during his Washington visit, as will be his desire to ensure that he ultimately achieves his goal of destroying Hamas in Gaza. One important consequence of the US-Israel military attack on Iran is that Tehran is no longer in a position to maintain its support for Hamas's terrorist activities, placing the terrorist organisation in its weakest position since the October 7 attacks. With Hamas on the ropes, Netanyahu will remain committed to achieving his ultimate goal of destroying the organisation once and for all, even if it means upsetting his White House host.
The Guardian
37 minutes ago
- The Guardian
‘Our days are full of hardship': people in Gaza barely dare to hope for success in ceasefire talks
In Gaza City on Sunday morning, there was only one topic of conversation: the possibility of peace. In the half ruined town, as across the entire territory, few took their eyes off their phones, a television or better informed relatives or friends for more than a few minutes. Um Fadi Ma'rouf, from the now ruined town of Beit Lahia in the far north of Gaza, said she was encouraged by the positive response from Hamas to the most recent US-sponsored proposal of terms for a deal. 'I think this means it will happen. I really hope it goes through because this situation has exhausted us,' said the 50year-old, who has been forced to move nine times during the conflict. Israel has so far rejected Hamas's demands for changes to a 14-point draft agreement circulated last week but on Sunday despatched a negotiating team to Qatar for indirect talks. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, is scheduled to meet Donald Trump, who is thought to hope to announce a ceasefire himself, in Washington on Monday evening local time. In Gaza City, the mood was tense and subdued. In the early morning, barefoot children with torn clothes and dirty faces walked the cracked streets carried pots in search of food or scavenged for rubbish that could be used as fuel. Later, many of those living in stifling tents headed to the coast in search of respite from soaring temperatures. 'From time to time, we hear airstrikes, but they are very far away and barely audible,' one Gaza City resident told the Guardian. 'We haven't seen any planes but a warship came very close to the shore but caused no trouble. It didn't open fire.' There have been two previous ceasefires in Gaza, one in November 2023, and a second this year which came into effect in January but collapsed in March when Israel reneged on a promise to move to a second phase which might have led to a definitive end to the conflict. A new Israeli offensive followed and an 11-week total blockade that led to almost the entire population facing the threat of famine. The near 21-month war was triggered by a Hamas raid into Israel in October 2023 in which militants killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 250 hostages. Fifty hostages remain in Gaza, of whom more than half are thought to be dead. The ensuing Israeli offensive has reduced much of Gaza to rubble, displaced almost the entire 2.3 million population multiple times and killed more than 57,000, mostly civilians. Ma'rouf said: 'During the last truce, I never expected the war to return. When it did, it was a tragic feeling – indescribable. I lost my sister in this war, along with around 20 other members of my extended family. My greatest fear is losing someone else from my family – one of my children, my siblings, or close relatives.' Nineteen-year-old Shahd Ashour, whose sister's fiance was killed just before the last ceasefire was announced, said she too was remaining cautious. 'My biggest fear now is that the news of the ceasefire turns out to be false – just rumours – and the war and killings continue. I still have hope, but only a little,' she said. Many children share such fears. Lama Al-Mubayyed, 12, told the Guardian she was scared of being 'torn apart, killed, paralysed or losing a limb'. 'I was so happy during the last ceasefire. We felt a bit safe. But when the war returned, I cried a lot because it meant going back to the suffering of tents, the summer heat, and repeated displacement,' Mubayyed said. Aid officials in Gaza said on Saturday that supplies of fuel, essential to run the generators that are the primary source of power in the territory, are now close to being exhausted. Without fresh deliveries, they said, humanitarian operations will collapse, the few remaining hospitals will be unable to function and communications will be cut off. 'We are hopeful about a ceasefire of course, but we need to know how much aid is going to get in and how fast, and who will be able to distribute it. There are a lot of questions that are unanswered,' one humanitarian official in Deir al-Balah said. In recent weeks the flow of aid into Gaza has varied, though it has been little more than a fraction of what is needed, UN officials said. Hundreds have died seeking food from looted trucks or a small number of distribution hubs. Prices for the limited basics available in the few markets vary wildly from day to day, though remain far too high for almost all in the territory to afford. On Sunday, a kilo of flour was selling for the equivalent of $10, a kilo of lentils for $12 and a kilo of rice or pasta for $14. 'The greatest hardship we're facing now – myself and everyone in Gaza – is finding food and water each day,' said Adel Sharaf, 18, who is from Beit Lahia but is now living in a tent after his home was destroyed. Many in Gaza are bracing themselves for bad news. Ahmad, from the al-Shujaiya neighbourhood that has been almost entirely destroyed in repeated Israeli military operations, said he was pessimistic 'because everyone was lying'. 'Every week they hear about a possible ceasefire, and then it falls apart. This is always what happens, just like in previous times,' the 35-year-old said. Abu Adham Abu Amro, 55, said he was afraid to hope because he had already lost 25 family members in the conflict. 'We pray to God that the ceasefire succeeds this time. Our days are full of hardship – struggling to access water and food, dealing with a shortage of resources, and the rise in prices,' Abu Amro, who is from Gaza City, said. 'Right now, I have no fears other than the possibility that the ceasefire won't happen this time.'
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Hamas orders Gaza clan leader to surrender, accuses him of treason
CAIRO, July 2 (Reuters) - The Hamas-run interior ministry in Gaza on Wednesday ordered the leader of a well-armed Bedouin clan defying the group's control of the Palestinian enclave to surrender and face trial, accusing him of treason. A ministry statement said the decision was taken by what it called a "Revolutionary Court". Yasser Abu Shabab, who does not recognise the authority of Hamas and accuses the militants of hurting the interests of Gaza, had 10 days to surrender, it said. The court urged Palestinians to inform Hamas security officials about the whereabouts of Abu Shabab, who has so far remained beyond their reach in the Rafah area of southern Gaza held by Israeli troops. The Abu Shabab group described the Hamas court's order as a "sitcom that doesn't frighten us, nor does it frighten any free man who loves his homeland and its dignity", in a post on the Facebook page that usually carried the group's announcements. Hamas, which accuses Abu Shabab of looting U.N. aid trucks and alleges that he is backed by Israel, has sent some of its top fighters to kill him, two Hamas sources and two other sources familiar with the situation told Reuters last month. Abu Shabab's group told Reuters, opens new tab at the time that it was a popular force protecting humanitarian aid from looting by escorting aid trucks and denied getting support from Israel or contacts with the Israeli army. It accused Hamas of violence and muzzling dissent. Israel has said it has backed some of Gaza's clans against Hamas, but has not said which.
