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Sky News
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Israel and Hamas resume ceasefire talks after 'extensive strikes' on Gaza
Israel and Hamas said ceasefire talks have resumed in Qatar - even as Israeli forces ramped up a bombing campaign and mobilised for a massive new ground assault. Earlier, the Israeli military said it had been "conducting extensive strikes and mobilising troops" as part of preparations to expand operations in Gaza. Israel's defence minister Israel Katz said Hamas had "refused to discuss negotiations without a cessation of the war", but after the airstrikes and the mobilisation of forces the militant group's representatives "have agreed to sit in a room and seriously discuss the deal". "Israel emphasises that if the talks do not progress, the [military] operation will continue," he added. A Hamas source told Sky News that ceasefire talks began in Doha on Saturday morning. Hamas 'keen to exert all the effort needed' Hamas official Taher al Nono told Reuters news agency that the two sides were involved in discussions without "pre-conditions". He added Hamas was "keen to exert all the effort needed" to help mediators make the negotiations a success. More than 150 people have been killed in Israeli strikes in the last 24 hours, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza. This week has been one of the deadliest phases of bombardment since a truce collapsed in March and marked a significant escalation in Israel's offensive. The Israeli military's preparations to expand operations in Gaza have included the build-up of tanks and troops along the border. It is part of "Operation Gideon Chariot", which Israel says is aimed at defeating Hamas and getting its hostages back. Trump speaks with freed hostage An Israeli defence official said earlier this month that the operation would not be launched before Donald Trump concluded his visit to the Middle East. The US president ended his trip on Friday, with no apparent progress towards a new peace deal. Ahead of his visit, Hamas released American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander as part of ongoing efforts to achieve a permanent ceasefire. On Saturday evening, the White House released a video of the US president speaking with the 21-year-old, who was believed to be the last living American hostage in Gaza. Mr Alexander is heard telling Mr Trump that "you're the only reason I'm here" in the clip, and said: "You saved my life." The US president then tells him: "For a while, we thought we lost you, actually. A lot of people thought you were not around anymore... "Just really honoured, and you're an American, and we love you, and we're going to take good care of you." 3:27 Meanwhile on Saturday, leaders at the annual summit of the Arab League in Baghdad said they were trying to reach a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. They also promised to contribute to the reconstruction of the territory once the war stops. The meeting comes two months after Israel ended a ceasefire reached with the Hamas militant group. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on 5 May that Israel was planning an expanded, intensive offensive against Hamas as his security cabinet approved plans that could involve seizing Gaza and controlling aid. This week, Israel said it had bombed the European Hospital because it was home to an underground Hamas base, but Sky News analysis has cast doubt on its evidence. Israel's goal is the elimination of Hamas, which attacked southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing around 1,200 people and seizing about 250 hostages. Its military response has killed more than 53,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
Observer
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Observer
Gaza ceasefire talks resume as Israeli assault kills hundreds
CAIRO: Israel and Hamas resumed ceasefire talks on Saturday in Qatar, both sides said, even as Israeli forces ramped up a bombing campaign that has killed hundreds of people over 72 hours, and mobilised for a massive new ground assault. Palestinian health authorities said at least 146 people had been confirmed killed in the third day of Israel's latest bombing campaign, one of the deadliest waves of strikes since a ceasefire collapsed in March. Many hundreds more wounded were being treated in hospital, and countless others were still buried under rubble. Israel says it is mobilising to seize more ground in Gaza in a new campaign dubbed "Operation Gideon's Chariots", which follows a visit this week to the Middle East by US President Donald Trump. It has halted all supplies entering Gaza since the start of March, leading to rising international concern over the plight of the enclave's 2.3 million residents. Taher Al Nono, the media adviser for the Hamas leadership, said that a new round of indirect talks with the Israeli delegation in Doha began on Saturday, discussing all issues "without pre-conditions". "The Hamas delegation outlined the position of the group and the necessity to end the war, swap prisoners, the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and allowing humanitarian aid and all the needs of the people of Gaza back into the strip," he added. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz also said in a statement that negotiations on a deal to release Israeli hostages held by Hamas had resumed in Doha. He noted that the talks had started without Israel first agreeing to a ceasefire or to lift its blockade. Israel's military said it was conducting extensive strikes and mobilising troops with the aim of achieving "operational control" in parts of Gaza. Gaza health authorities said most of those killed on Saturday were in towns on the northern edge of the enclave, including Beit Lahiya and the Jabalia refugee camp, as well as in the southern city of Khan Younis. They said 459 people had been injured. Israeli forces had told people to leave the northern areas on Friday. "Northern Gaza is witnessing a systematic campaign of extermination," Hamas said in a statement, calling on Arab leaders at a summit in Baghdad to take practical steps to stop the aggression and ensure the delivery of aid. Talks since March have failed to restore a truce under which Hamas would release remaining hostages captured in the October 2023 assault on Israel that precipitated the war. Hamas has long said it would not free them unless Israel ends its campaign; Israel says it will fight on until Hamas is dismantled. At the Arab League summit, Egypt's President Abdel Fatah El Sisi, whose country mediates Gaza peace talks alongside Qatar, said Israel's actions aimed at "obliterating and annihilating" the Palestinians and "ending their existence in the Gaza Strip". United Nations experts say famine now looms in Gaza more than two months after Israel halted all deliveries of supplies. UN aid chief Tom Fletcher asked the Security Council this week if it would act to "prevent genocide". On Friday, Trump acknowledged Gaza's growing hunger crisis and the need for aid deliveries. A US-backed foundation aims to start distributing aid to Gazans by the end of May using private US security and logistics firms. The UN has said it won't work with the group because it is not impartial, neutral or independent. Gaza's health system is barely operational with hospitals hit repeatedly by the Israeli military during the 19-month war and medical supplies drying up. The head of the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, Marwan Al Sultan, said huge numbers of wounded victims of the latest bombing campaign were in critical condition. "Since midnight, we have received 58 martyrs, while a large number of victims remain under the rubble. The situation inside the hospital is catastrophic," he said. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on May 5 that Israel was planning an expanded, intensive offensive against Hamas as his security cabinet approved plans that could involve seizing the entire Gaza Strip and controlling aid. — Reuters
Al Jazeera
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
New Gaza truce talks under way as Israel expands ground assault
Israel and Hamas have confirmed a new round of Gaza truce talks is under way in Qatar as the Israeli military expanded its ground offensive on the besieged Palestinian territory, despite growing international calls for a ceasefire. Israel Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement on Saturday that the Hamas delegation in Doha returned to negotiations 'on a hostage deal'. Israel had entered the talks without any conditions, according to Katz. Taher al-Nono, the media adviser for the Hamas leadership, confirmed to the Reuters news agency that a new round of indirect talks had begun without any conditions. 'The Hamas delegation outlined the position of the group and the necessity to end the war, swap prisoners, the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and allowing humanitarian aid and all the needs of the people of Gaza back into the Strip,' he added. Medical sources told Al Jazeera that at least 54 Palestinians were killed in Israeli air strikes on Saturday, as Israel launched a new offensive in Gaza. Israel's army said on social media that it was intensifying attacks and exerting 'tremendous pressure' on Hamas across Gaza, and wouldn't stop until the captives are returned and the armed group is dismantled. Katz said that Operation Gideon Chariots was being led with 'great force.' The ground offensive comes after Israel escalated its air attacks on Gaza, killing hundreds of Palestinians in the past three days. Many of the victims were killed in northern Gaza, including in Beit Lahiya and Jabalia, which have received forced displacement orders by the Israeli army in recent days. As leaders of the Arab League held a Gaza-focused summit in Iraq's Baghdad and called for international funding to rebuild Gaza, Hamas asked the international community to impose sanctions on Israel. In a statement on its Telegram channel, the armed group described the situation in Gaza as a 'full-blown genocide committed before the eyes of a world that stands helpless, while more than two and a half million people are being slaughtered in the besieged Strip'. The group also reported continued fighting with invading Israeli forces, claiming on Saturday that its fighters killed and wounded two Israeli soldiers using machineguns in the Shujayea neighbourhood of Gaza City in the northern part of the enclave. United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said he was 'alarmed' by Israel's moves to expand its ground operations in Gaza and called for an immediate ceasefire. UN relief chief Tom Fletcher said a joint plan by the United States and Israel to replace international aid mechanisms in Gaza was a 'waste of time' as more than 160,000 pallets of aid are 'ready to move' at the border, but blocked by Israel. Nevertheless, Washington has remained adamant in its full support for Israel, with Trump saying on Friday that Gaza must become a 'freedom zone'. Last week, Hamas released Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander, who, along with families of remaining captives in Gaza, called for the release of all still held in the Palestinian territory.
Asharq Al-Awsat
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Hamas Confirms New Gaza Ceasefire Talks with Israel in Qatar on Saturday
A new round of Gaza ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel is underway in Qatar's Doha, Hamas official Taher al-Nono told Reuters on Saturday. He said the two sides were discussing all issues without "pre-conditions". Nono said Hamas was "keen to exert all the effort needed" to help mediators make the negotiations a success, adding there was "no certain offer on the table". The negotiations come despite Israel preparing to expand operations in the Gaza Strip as they seek "operational control" in some areas of the war-torn enclave. The return to negotiations also comes after US President Donald Trump ended a Middle East tour on Friday with no apparent progress towards a new ceasefire, although he acknowledged Gaza's growing hunger crisis and the need for aid deliveries.
South China Morning Post
17-05-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Hamas confirms new Gaza ceasefire talks with Israel in Qatar
A new round of Gaza ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel is underway in Qatar's Doha, Hamas official Taher al-Nono told Reuters on Saturday. He said the two sides were discussing all issues without 'pre-conditions'. Nono said Hamas was 'keen to exert all the effort needed' to help mediators make the negotiations a success, adding there was 'no certain offer on the table'. Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli airstrike in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on Saturday. Photo: Reuters The negotiations come despite Israel preparing to expand operations in the Gaza Strip as they seek 'operational control' in some areas of the war-torn enclave. The return to negotiations also comes after US President Donald Trump ended a Middle East tour on Friday with no apparent progress towards a new ceasefire, although he acknowledged Gaza's growing hunger crisis and the need for aid deliveries. Advertisement
