Latest news with #MohammadDarwish
Malay Mail
a day ago
- Politics
- Malay Mail
Turkiye spy chief talks Gaza truce with senior Hamas leader
ISTANBUL, June 30 — Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin met senior Hamas leaders on Sunday for talks on Gaza's humanitarian tragedy and efforts to reach a ceasefire, state news agency Anadolu reported. Kalin held talks with Mohammad Darwish, head of the political council of Hamas that rules Gaza, and his delegation at an undisclosed location, Anadolu said, citing security sources. They discussed the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza and Turkey's efforts to end the war and 'ensure the immediate passage of aid' to the territory. They also spoke of 'the need to reach a consensus among Palestinian groups during this critical period... (and) the steps to be taken to achieve a permanent ceasefire in Gaza,' the sources said. The meeting came after US President Donald Trump voiced optimism about a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, saying Friday it could happen 'within the next week'. Mediators have engaged in months of negotiations aimed at ending 20 months of war in Gaza, where Israel stopped all food entering over two months ago, leading to warnings of famine. It has since allowed a resumption of food deliveries through the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation involving US security contractors, with Israeli troops at the periphery. Witnesses and Gaza officials have reported multiple instances of Palestinians being killed while trying to get aid. — AFP
Arab News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Turkiye spy chief talks Gaza truce with senior Hamas leader
ISTANBUL: Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin met senior Hamas leaders on Sunday for talks on Gaza's humanitarian tragedy and efforts to reach a ceasefire, state news agency Anadolu reported. Kalin held talks with Mohammad Darwish, head of the political council of Hamas that rules Gaza, and his delegation at an undisclosed location, Anadolu said, citing security sources. They discussed the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza and Turkiye's efforts to end the war and 'ensure the immediate passage of aid' to the territory. They also spoke of 'the need to reach a consensus among Palestinian groups during this critical period... (and) the steps to be taken to achieve a permanent ceasefire in Gaza,' the sources said. The meeting came after US President Donald Trump voiced optimism about a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, saying Friday it could happen 'within the next week.' Mediators have engaged in months of negotiations aimed at ending 20 months of war in Gaza, where Israel stopped all food entering over two months ago, leading to warnings of famine. It has since allowed a resumption of food deliveries through the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation involving US security contractors, with Israeli troops at the periphery. Witnesses and Gaza officials have reported multiple instances of Palestinians being killed while trying to get aid.
Arab News
19-04-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Turkiye spy chief discusses Gaza aid with Hamas leaders
Kalin held talks with Mohammad Darwish, head of the political council of Hamas which rules Gaza and his delegationKalin reassured them of Türkiye's ongoing support and said Ankara would firmly oppose any new efforts to occupy or annex further Palestinian territoryISTANBUL: Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin met Hamas leaders in Türkiye on Saturday for talks about how to deliver aid to war-ravaged Gaza where Israel resumed its military offensive last held talks with Mohammad Darwish, head of the political council of Hamas which rules Gaza and his delegation, Türkiye's Anadolu state news agency reported, saying they also spoke of initiatives to secure a permanent ceasefire and ways to counter Israeli plans to displace Gaza's population by reassured them of Türkiye's ongoing support and said Ankara would firmly oppose any new efforts to occupy or annex further Palestinian a statement, Hamas said its leaders had stressed their willingness to 'immediately reach a comprehensive prisoner exchange agreement in return for a ceasefire' as well as an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the start of reconstruction and the lifting of Israel's also expressed a desire to see 'the immediate implementation of the Egyptian proposal to establish a special committee to govern the Gaza Strip, composed of independents and competent national figures.'The Palestinian militant group had on Thursday signalled its rejection of Israel's latest proposal for a 45-day ceasefire, calling for a 'comprehensive' deal to end the 18-month-long March 2, Israel has imposed a total blockade on aid entering United Nations has warned the territory was in the grip of its most severe humanitarian crisis since the war began in October 2023, triggered by Hamas's attack on has accused Israel of using 'starvation as a weapon' but Israel has vowed to keep up its blockade, saying it was the only way to force the militant group to release the 58 hostages still held in a two-month ceasefire, Israel renewed its Gaza assault on March 18, and since then has killed at least 1,691 people, the health ministry says, bringing the overall toll to 51,065, mostly October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, also mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Al Arabiya
28-01-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Palestinians return to Gaza City as mediators look ahead to next stage
Displaced Palestinians returning to their homes in Gaza City this week found a city in ruins after 15 months of fighting, with many seeking shelter amongst the rubble and searching for relatives lost in the chaotic return march. Gaza City, in the north of the enclave, is a shell of the bustling, rough-edged urban center it was before the war, with swathes of buildings destroyed by Israeli bombardments and piles of rubble and torn up concrete on every side. Many of those returning, often laden with what personal possessions they still have after months of being moved around as the focus of the war shifted, had walked 20 km (12 miles) or more along the coastal highway north. By late on Monday, Gaza's Hamas authorities said more than 300,000 people, or almost half of those displaced from the north during the war, had crossed into Gaza City and the north edge of the enclave from areas in the south. Even as those who arrived in Gaza looked around for somewhere to settle down, tens of thousands were still moving north as mediators began preliminary work on the second stage of ceasefire negotiations due to begin next week. Three more Israeli hostages are due to be handed over on Thursday by Hamas, the militant group still in control of Gaza, with another three expected on Saturday, in exchange for scores of Palestinian prisoners set for release from Israeli jails, some of whom will go into exile. In Cairo, a high-profile Hamas team led by Mohammad Darwish, head of the group's leading council, arrived for talks with Egyptian mediators, and to welcome 70 Palestinian prisoners who arrived in Cairo prior to being moved to third countries who would be willing to host them. These include Qatar, Turkey, and Algeria, according to Hamas and other sources. Under the terms of the ceasefire, agreed this month with Egyptian and Qatari mediation and US support, 33 hostages are due to be released during a six week ceasefire, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, many of them serving life sentences in Israeli jails. Seven hostages and 290 prisoners have so far been exchanged. A second stage, which will decide what happens to more than 60 other hostages, including men of military age as well as a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, is due to begin by next Tuesday. If that succeeds, a full end to the war could follow. The conflict was triggered by the Hamas-led attack in southern Israel that killed 1,200 people, according to an Israeli toll, and saw more than 250 taken hostage. It would also open the way to talks on reconstructing Gaza, now largely destroyed by an Israeli campaign that killed almost 47,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian health authorities. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced pressure from some hardliners in his government, unhappy that the agreement leaves Hamas still in power in Gaza, not to proceed to the second stage but to recommence fighting to secure what they see as total victory. But Sami Abu Zuhri, a senior Hamas official, said the group believed the talks would go ahead. 'We are ready to begin negotiations for the second phase at the specified time and are confident that Netanyahu has no choice but to proceed with the second phase,' he said. What would follow full implementation of the ceasefire remains unclear after Israel's repeated declarations that Hamas will not be allowed to remain in power in Gaza. US President Donald Trump's call for Palestinians in Gaza to be taken to Egypt or Jordan, though strongly rejected in the region and by Palestinian officials and residents, has further complicated the outlook.
