Israel, Hamas set to resume Gaza ceasefire talks as Netanyahu due to meet Trump
The US president has said a deal could be reached this week. Before departing for Washington on Sunday, Netanyahu said that Israeli negotiators had been given clear instructions to achieve a ceasefire under conditions that Israel has accepted.
An Israeli official described the atmosphere so far at the Gaza talks, mediated by Qatar and Egypt, as positive. Palestinian officials said that initial meetings on Sunday had ended inconclusively.
A second Israeli official said the issue of humanitarian aid had been discussed in Qatar, without providing further details.
The Truce talks have been revived following last month's 12-day Israeli air war against its arch-foe Iran, which backs Hamas.
The US-backed proposal for a 60-day ceasefire envisages a phased release of hostages, Israeli troop withdrawals from parts of Gaza and discussions on ending the war entirely.
Ending the war has been the main sticking point in past rounds of talks, with Hamas demanding a full end to the conflict in return for releasing all hostages, and Israel insisting it would fight on until Hamas is dismantled.
Some of Netanyahu's hardline coalition partners oppose ending the fighting. But, with Israelis having become increasingly weary of the 21-month-old war, his government is expected to back a ceasefire.
The war was triggered on October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Around 20 of the remaining 50 hostages in Gaza are believed to be still alive.
Israel's retaliatory military campaign against Hamas has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health authorities, led to a hunger crisis, displaced nearly all the population and left most of the territory in ruins.
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Arab News
11 minutes ago
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Can Mamdani become the next New York City mayor?
When you land in New York these days, all the talk is about Zohran Mamdani, the young immigrant politician who last month won the Democratic Party's nomination to be its candidate for mayor of New York City, winning easily against more powerful candidates. His challenge now is to win the mayoral election in November despite a national campaign, led by President Donald Trump, to discredit him, including threats to arrest or deport him. At a highly polarized time in American politics, in which conservatives have the upper hand, Mamdani's stunning success is an anomaly. He is not only a member of the Democratic Party, but also of the Democratic Socialists of America, a leftist political organization and the largest socialist grouping in the country. He has taken on New York's dominant landlords, real estate developers and Wall Street tycoons. 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Arab News
30 minutes ago
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Al Arabiya
37 minutes ago
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Israeli refusal to allow safe entry of aid stalls truce talks, Palestinian sources say
Israel's refusal to allow the free and safe entry of aid into Gaza remains the main obstacle to progress in the ceasefire talks being held in Qatar, Palestinian sources told Reuters on Monday. Developing...
