Latest news with #Kahlilal-Hayya
Hindustan Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Mediators tell Hamas new Gaza talks to begin in Doha
International mediators trying to broker a ceasefire to end the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza have informed the Palestinian group that talks will resume on Sunday, a Palestinian official said. Hamas is seeking increased humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip and assurances for a lasting end to the conflict.(REUTERS) "Mediators informed Hamas that a new round of indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel will begin in Doha today, Sunday," the official, who is familiar with the talks and close to Hamas, told AFP. The official said the Hamas delegation, led by its top negotiator Kahlil al-Hayya, was already in the Qatari capital. The renewed talks are expected to focus on the conditions for a potential ceasefire agreement, with particular attention to the details of a possible hostage release in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Hamas is also seeking increased humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip and assurances for a lasting end to the conflict. Two Palestinian sources close to the discussions said the latest US-backed proposal included a 60-day truce, during which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and several bodies in exchange for Palestinians detained by Israel. On Friday, Hamas said it was ready "to engage immediately and seriously" in negotiations, and that it had submitted its response to the proposal, without offering any details. On Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that "the changes that Hamas is seeking to make in the Qatari proposal... are unacceptable to Israel". Netanyahu however ordered negotiators to head to Doha to discuss "the Qatari proposal that Israel has agreed to", the statement from his office said, later adding the delegation would travel on Sunday.
The Sun
a day ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Mediators tell Hamas new Gaza talks to begin in Doha
GAZA CITY: International mediators trying to broker a ceasefire to end the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza have informed the Palestinian group that talks will resume on Sunday, a Palestinian official said. 'Mediators informed Hamas that a new round of indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel will begin in Doha today, Sunday,' the official, who is familiar with the talks and close to Hamas, told AFP. The official said the Hamas delegation, led by its top negotiator Kahlil al-Hayya, was already in the Qatari capital. The renewed talks are expected to focus on the conditions for a potential ceasefire agreement, with particular attention to the details of a possible hostage release in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Hamas is also seeking increased humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip and assurances for a lasting end to the conflict. Two Palestinian sources close to the discussions said the latest US-backed proposal included a 60-day truce, during which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and several bodies in exchange for Palestinians detained by Israel. On Friday, Hamas said it was ready 'to engage immediately and seriously' in negotiations, and that it had submitted its response to the proposal, without offering any details. On Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that 'the changes that Hamas is seeking to make in the Qatari proposal... are unacceptable to Israel'. Netanyahu however ordered negotiators to head to Doha to discuss 'the Qatari proposal that Israel has agreed to', the statement from his office said, later adding the delegation would travel on Sunday. – AFP
RTÉ News
a day ago
- Politics
- RTÉ News
Ceasefire talks to begin in Doha as 33 killed in Gaza
International mediators seeking to secure a ceasefire deal to end the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza have informed the Palestinian group that negotiations would resume today. "Mediators informed Hamas that a new round of indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel will begin in Doha today, Sunday," said a Palestinian official familiar with the negotiations and close to Hamas. The official said the Hamas delegation, led by its top negotiator Kahlil al-Hayya, was already in the Qatari capital. The renewed talks are expected to focus on the conditions for a potential ceasefire agreement, with particular attention to the details of a possible hostage release in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Hamas is also seeking increased humanitarian aid for Gaza and assurances for a lasting end to the conflict. It comes as hospital officials in Gaza say that 33 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli air strikes, as Israel's military said it had struck more than 100 targets in the embattled enclave in the past day. Some 20 people were killed and 25 wounded after Israeli strikes hit two houses in Gaza city, according to Mohammed Abu Selmia, the director of Shifa Hospital that services the area. In southern Gaza, 13 Palestinians were killed by strikes in Muwasi, an area on Gaza's Mediterranean where many displaced people live in tents, officials at Nasser Hospital in nearby Khan Younis told The Associated Press. Five of the dead belonged to the same family, according to the hospital. The Israeli military made no immediate comment on the individual strikes, but said it had struck 130 targets across Gaza in the last 24 hours. Netanyahu meeting Trump in Washington Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be travelling to US for talks at the White House. Mr Netanyahu had earlier announced he was sending a team to Qatar, a key mediator in the conflict, though he said that Hamas's response to a draft US-backed ceasefire deal included some "unacceptable" demands. Faced with mounting calls to end the war that is nearing its 22nd month, Mr Netanyahu is due to meet with US President Donald Trump tomorrow, who has been making a renewed push to end the fighting. Yesterday, protesters gathered in Israel's coastal hub of Tel Aviv for a weekly rally demanding the return of hostages still in Gaza since Hamas's 7 October 2023 attack that triggered the war. Macabit Mayer, the aunt of captives Gali and Ziv Berman, called for a deal "that saves everyone". Hamas said on Friday that it was ready "to engage immediately and seriously" in negotiations. A statement from Mr Netanyahu's office said that "the changes that Hamas is seeking to make in the Qatari proposal... are unacceptable to Israel", while also sending negotiators to discuss "the Qatari proposal that Israel has agreed to". 60-day truce Hamas has not publicly detailed its responses to the US-sponsored proposal, which was transmitted by mediators from Qatar and Egypt. Two Palestinian sources close to the discussions told AFP the proposal included a 60-day truce, during which Hamas would release ten living hostages and several bodies in exchange for Palestinians detained by Israel. However, they said, the group was also demanding certain conditions for Israel's withdrawal, guarantees against a resumption of fighting during negotiations, and the return of the UN-led aid distribution system. Since the Hamas attack sparked a massive Israeli offensive with the aim of destroying the group, mediators have brokered two temporary halts in fighting, during which hostages were freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody. Of the 251 hostages taken by Palestinian militants during the October 2023 attack, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. The Egyptian foreign ministry said yesterday that top diplomat Badr Abdelatty held a phone call with Washington's main representative in the truce talks, Steve Witkoff, to discuss "preparations for holding indirect meetings between the two parties concerned to reach an agreement". But recent efforts to broker a new truce have repeatedly failed, with the primary point of contention being Israel's rejection of Hamas's demand for a lasting ceasefire. The war has created dire humanitarian conditions for the more than two million people in Gaza. 'Dying for flour' Karima al-Ras, from Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, said "we hope that a truce will be announced" to allow in more aid. "People are dying for flour," she said. A US- and Israel-backed group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, took the lead in food distribution in the territory in late May, when Israel partially lifted a more than two-month blockade on aid deliveries. UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the GHF over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives. UN human rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said on Friday that more than 500 people have been killed waiting to access food from GHF distribution points. The Hamas attack of October 2023 resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures. Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 57,338 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The United Nations considers the figures reliable.
