New Gaza Cease-Fire Deal Would Come With U.S. Assurances on Talks to End War
The terms of the new proposal, put together by U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff along with mediators from Egypt and Qatar, also call for, among other things, the exchange of 10 living hostages for a larger number of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, the officials said.
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The Hill
2 hours ago
- The Hill
Hamas signals willingness to move forward with ceasefire
Hamas officials said Friday that they have responded to President Trump's 60-day ceasefire proposal in a 'positive' way but signaled more talks are needed. The move comes after Trump told reporters Thursday that he expected a response from the Palestinian militant group within '24 hours' about the agreement to temporarily pause its fight with Israel in the Gaza Strip. It is unclear if the statement means the ceasefire will be accepted, but the group told mediators it is 'seriously ready to enter immediately into a round of negotiations.' Their reply comes just hours after Israeli airstrikes killed 15 Palestinians in Gaza, while hospital officials said another 20 people died in shootings while seeking aid, according to The Associated Press. Hamas has sought guarantees from Israel that the truce would lead to the end of the nearly two-year war. The president for months has pushed both sides to agree to a ceasefire deal that would include the release of all remaining hostages — which were taken captive during the militant group's surprise attack on Oct. 7, 2023. The latest development comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to visit the White House next week for discussions. Trump earlier this week said Israel had agreed to the terms and urged Hamas to follow suit, warning that conditions could worsen the longer peace talks take. 'My Representatives had a long and productive meeting with the Israelis today on Gaza. Israel has agreed to the necessary conditions to finalize the 60 Day CEASEFIRE, during which time we will work with all parties to end the War,' the president wrote Tuesday on Truth Social. 'The Qataris and Egyptians, who have worked very hard to help bring Peace, will deliver this final proposal.' 'I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE,' he added. An official with knowledge of the talks told the AP that Hamas has requested several things before agreeing to a truce, including pulling back its military troops to pre-March positions — or where they were before a previous ceasefire was broken. The group also asked that humanitarian aid be able to flow uninterrupted into Gaza and that negotiations continue even past the 60-day period if needed to permanently end the war. The release of the remaining hostages would also be part of the deal, the official told the news wire. During his visit with Trump next week, Netanyahu said the war with Gaza would be on the agenda. The Israeli leader has said in previous rounds of peace talks that his mission of eradicating Hamas is still the goal. He's also commended the president for recent U.S. strikes in Iran that hit three enrichment facilities as the Trump administration pressures Iranian officials to dismantle its nuclear program. A fragile ceasefire between Israel and Tehran remains in place after days of back-and-forth airstrikes last month. The Associated Press contributed.
Boston Globe
2 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Hamas says it is ready to negotiate truce proposal
'The movement submitted the response' to mediators, Hamas said in a statement late Friday night, adding it was 'characterized as being positive.' Advertisement The proposal calls for hostage-for-prisoner swaps and negotiations leading to a permanent end to the nearly two-year-old war in Gaza. Trump said this week that he had been pressuring Israel and Hamas to make a deal before a visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to Washington on Monday. 'MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA,' Trump posted on Truth Social on Sunday, directing the message at Israel, before warning Hamas 'it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE' if it did not sign on. Gideon Saar, the Israeli foreign minister, said there were 'positive signs' in the efforts to reach a new ceasefire and that Israel was eager for talks to resume 'as soon as possible.' The primary obstacle to getting a deal between Hamas and Israel has been the permanence of any ceasefire. Hamas has insisted on a lasting end to the war before releasing all remaining hostages. But Netanyahu said that Hamas' military and governing capabilities must be dismantled. Advertisement The war began with a Hamas-led attack from Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023. It killed about 1,200 people, according to Israel, and some 250 other people were abducted to Gaza. Israel believes up to 20 living hostages remain in Gaza. Israel's retaliation has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, including thousands of children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Almost all of the roughly 2 million Palestinian residents of in Gaza have been displaced at one point during the war, many of them repeatedly, and hunger is widespread. The Associated Press reported Friday that Israeli airstrikes killed 15 Palestinians in Gaza early Friday, while a hospital said another 20 people died in shootings while seeking aid. The UN human rights office said it has recorded 613 Palestinians killed within the span of a month in Gaza while trying to obtain aid. Most were killed while trying to reach food distribution points run by an Israeli-backed American organization, while others were massed waiting for aid trucks connected to the United Nations or other humanitarian organizations, it said. People briefed on the new proposal have said it calls for the handover of 10 living hostages and the remains of 18 others during the 60-day ceasefire in exchange for a number of Palestinian prisoners. The releases would be staggered over five stages, and Hamas would have to refrain from holding televised handover ceremonies like those it staged during the ceasefire earlier this year. The ceremonies infuriated Israelis, who saw them as humiliating. Advertisement Steve Witkoff, the White House's special envoy brokering the truce talks, had previously advanced a proposal for a 60-day cessation of hostilities that was supposed to lead to a broader deal. As in the last truce, the new one would require Israel to pull back troops deployed in Gaza. But the details of that pullback were not immediately clear. The new proposal also states that the United States and the Arab mediators, Qatar and Egypt, will ensure that serious negotiations to end the war will take place during the truce. Netanyahu has resisted ending the war, with far-right members of his fragile coalition threatening to bring down his government if he agreed to such a deal. While the truce talks were stalled, Netanyahu had been pushing Trump to target Iranian nuclear sites, which the US leader ordered the United States to bomb in June. Since that 12-day campaign against Iran ended late last month, the prime minister's popularity appears to have risen at home, possibly making him less reliant on the support of his far-right ministers. But there is a new unknown. Hamas has a new de facto leader in Gaza, Izz al-Din al-Haddad, who Israel says took over the military wing after its forces killed the former Hamas leader, Mohammad Sinwar. Al-Haddad helped to plan the Oct. 7 attack and is thought to strongly oppose efforts to dislodge Hamas from power. In an Al Jazeera documentary that aired in late January, he stated his terms, which include Israel withdrawing from Gaza, ending the war, releasing Palestinian prisoners, allowing reconstruction in the enclave, and lifting restrictions on the entry and exit of goods. Advertisement 'The leadership of the occupation, supported by America and the West, will have to submit to our just demands,' he said. Material from the Associated Press is included in this report. This article originally appeared in
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Palestinian students say visa delays have stranded them despite admission to Canadian schools
With two of their peers killed last year, more than 70 Palestinian students are raising the alarm over stalled immigration to Canada despite admissions and scholarships at universities across the country, stranding them in Gaza or nearby Egypt and Jordan as they wait out a war. "The situation in Gaza is getting hard day by day, they are targeting many crowded and random places," said Meera, an industrial engineering student who has been accepted to the University of Regina on scholarships to pursue a master's degree, but is stuck waiting in Gaza City, where she's unable to submit a completed visa application to the federal Immigration Department. "Like so many other students, I become trapped with my dreams," she told CBC News in an interview. CBC News is only using her first name due to concerns for her safety. CBC has seen her acceptance letter from the University of Regina, as well as paperwork showing she has started an immigration file with the Canadian government. In December 2024, twin sisters Sally and Dalia Ghazi were killed after being accepted into a PhD program at the University of Waterloo in southern Ontario, in what the school described as an Israeli airstrike. "They didn't even start their dreams," said Meera, who knew the sisters. "They were very excellent girls who were always asking new opportunities and new chance to know more information about opportunities in Canada," she said. WATCH | Twin sisters from Gaza set to attend Canadian university killed in war: Like dozens of other students, Meera has tried getting through to Canada with the help of a Canadian non-profit called Palestinian Students and Scholars at Risk. (PSSAR). According to PSSAR, there are more than 70 students who are stuck in Gaza waiting to get here. The federal government maintains the primary issue for Palestinians trying to leave Gaza and enter Canada is obtaining security clearance by providing photos and fingerprints, known as biometrics. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) cannot administer these tests on the ground since it has no presence in the war zone. "Movement out of Gaza remains extremely challenging and may not be possible at this time, as countries and other actors set their own entry and exit requirements," IRCC said in a statement. IRCC's explanation did not satisfy Aaron Shafer, a professor in Forensic Science at Trent University in Peterborough, who is working with the PSSAR to bring over another Palestinian student waiting in Gaza. "We know that other countries have managed to do this. France, for example, has managed to facilitate safe passage for students," he said. "I would call on and ask the Canadian government to try to facilitate something similar." In January 2025, French media reported some 32 students had managed to get to France to pursue studies over the course of the previous year, including at least one directly from Gaza. Shafer also says about a third of the students PSSAR is attempting to help have already left Gaza and are waiting in Egypt or Jordan, where the Canadian government still has yet to process their paperwork. "They could be in their lab tomorrow at the University of British Columbia or the University of Toronto, if the Canadian government would process their visas," he said. Alaa, one student CBC News spoke to in Cairo, Egypt, said he submitted his immigration paperwork in May 2024. He's been waiting for approval since then. Accepted into a PhD program in Montreal, Alaa says he has not received any update from IRCC. CBC News has also seen his documentation and is agreeing not to use his fill name in concern for his safety. Alaa says he lives alone, separated from his wife and four children who remain in Gaza, and is barely able to speak to them. He completed previous degrees in Gaza, but says his university, like all others in the territory, has been levelled in the war between Israel and Hamas that has been raging since October 2023. "That's a reason also that's made me take a decision to travel to Canada to complete my PhD, to return to Gaza, to enrich and contribute to rebuild our academic establishment." WATCH | Professor in Gaza returns to a university campus destroyed by war: Clock ticking on admissions Another obstacle the students are facing is expiry dates on admissions or scholarships. Meera told CBC News she has already twice deferred starting at the University of Regina, and is concerned about having to do that a third time. The admission letter CBC News saw for Alaa said his offer is valid only if "it is followed by a course registration in the Fall 2025 semester." Asked about delays for students who have already gotten out of Gaza and are waiting for visas elsewhere, IRCC said "each application is different, and as a result, the time it takes to process may vary. Processing times can vary based on a variety of factors, such as whether an application is complete, if IRCC has to wait for additional information, how easily IRCC can verify the information provided, and the complexity of an application." IRCC also did not directly answer a question about whether it is in touch with France or other allied countries about best practices to assist students leaving Gaza. "We can't comment on other countries' bilateral discussions with foreign governments," it said.
