Latest news with #hostagerelease
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Israel approves plan to conquer Gaza City, calls up reservists
Israel's defence minister approved a plan on Wednesday for the conquest of Gaza City and authorised the call-up of around 60,000 reservists, piling pressure on Hamas as mediators push for a ceasefire. Defence Minister Israel Katz's move, confirmed to AFP by a spokesperson, came as mediators awaited an official Israeli response on their latest proposal. While mediator Qatar had expressed guarded optimism over the latest proposal, a senior Israeli official said the government stood firm on its call for the release of all hostages in any agreement. The framework that Hamas had approved proposes an initial 60-day truce, a staggered hostage release, the freeing of some Palestinian prisoners and provisions allowing for the entry of aid into Gaza. Israel and Hamas have held on-off indirect negotiations throughout the war, resulting in two short truces during which Israeli hostages were released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Of the 251 hostages taken during Hamas's October 2023 attack that triggered the war, 49 are still in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. Sources from Hamas and its ally Islamic Jihad told AFP on Wednesday that the latest proposal envisages the release of 10 hostages and 18 bodies from Gaza. The remaining captives would be released in a second phase, with negotiations for a broader settlement. - 'Opened the door' - The latest proposal came after Israel's security cabinet approved plans to conquer Gaza City, despite fears it will worsen the already catastrophic humanitarian crisis. Qatar and Egypt, backed by the United States, have mediated the frequent rounds of shuttle diplomacy. Qatar said the latest proposal was "almost identical" to an earlier version agreed by Israel, while Egypt said Monday that "the ball is now in its (Israel's) court". Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to publicly comment on the truce plan, but said last week that his country would accept "an agreement in which all the hostages are released at once and according to our conditions for ending the war". Senior Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi said on social media that his group had "opened the door wide to the possibility of reaching an agreement, but the question remains whether Netanyahu will once again close it, as he has done in the past". According to Israeli media reports, Netanyahu has not so far called a security cabinet meeting to discuss any response. - 'White gold' - The latest truce proposal came as Netanyahu faces increasing pressure at home and abroad. Over the past week, Israel has stepped up its air strikes and ground operations in Gaza. According to Israeli army radio, the military was preparing for a "prolonged operation of several months that will run into 2026". After conducting intense operations around the Zeitoun neighbourhood of Gaza City, the military appeared to be concentrating its firepower on nearby Sabra, whose residents have reported several strikes. An Israeli military official told journalists on Wednesday that the new phase of combat would involve "a gradual precise and targeted operation in and around Gaza City," including some areas where forces had not previously operated. The official said the military had already begun operating in the neighbourhoods of Zeitoun and Jabalia as part of the initial stages. Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli strikes and fire killed at least 21 people across the territory on Wednesday. When contacted by AFP, the Israeli military asked for coordinates and specific timeframes to comment on the reports, but said it would look into reports of eight people killed by Israeli fire near an aid site in the centre of Gaza. Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP on Tuesday the situation was "very dangerous and unbearable" in Zeitoun and Sabra, where he said "shelling continues intermittently". Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing swathes of the Palestinian territory mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency or the Israeli military. In the Zikim area of northern Gaza on Tuesday, an AFP journalist saw Palestinians hauling sacks of food aid along dusty roads lined with rubble and damaged buildings. Gazan Shawg Al-Badri said it took "three to four hours" to carry flour, what she called "white gold", back to her family's tent. "This bag is worth the whole world," she said. Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Israel's offensive has killed at least 62,064 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, which the United Nations considers reliable. bur-ser/acc/kir Solve the daily Crossword
BBC News
2 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Mediators await Israeli response to new Gaza ceasefire proposal
Arab mediators are awaiting a formal response from Israel after Hamas said it had accepted a new proposal for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release plan was presented by Qatar and Egypt, which are trying to avert a major new Israeli offensive to occupy Gaza said it was "almost identical" to a US proposal for a 60-day truce, during which around half of 50 hostages held in Gaza - 20 of whom are believed to be alive - would be handed over and the two sides would negotiate a lasting ceasefire and the return of the recent days, Israel's government has said it would no longer accept a partial deal - only a comprehensive one that would see all the hostages freed. Local media quoted a senior Israeli official saying: "Israel's position hasn't changed - release of all hostages and fulfilment of other conditions defined for ending the war."Later this week, the Israeli cabinet is expected to approve the military's plan to occupy Gaza City, where intensifying Israeli strikes have already prompted thousands of people to Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Israel's intention to conquer all of Gaza - including the areas where most of its 2.1 million Palestinian residents have sought refuge - after indirect talks with Hamas on a ceasefire deal broke down last month. On Monday night, a Hamas statement announced that the armed group and other Palestinian factions had approved a ceasefire proposal presented by Egyptian and Qatari mediators to their delegations in Cairo the previous official Taher al-Nunu told Al-Araby TV that they had not sought any amendments to the proposal, which he described as "a partial deal leading to a comprehensive deal".He also emphasised that on the first day of its implementation, negotiations would begin with the aim of agreeing a permanent ceasefire."We hope that the 60 days of ceasefire will be sufficient to conclude a final agreement that will completely end this war," he foreign ministry spokesman, Majed al-Ansari, told reporters in Doha on Tuesday that the proposal was "98%" similar to the one presented by US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff."I won't go into the details of the language that is on the table right now. But what I can say is that it is very close, almost identical to what was there on the table," Ansari said."It is within the confines of the Witkoff plan... It's a continuation of that process. Obviously, it's in the details where the devil lies."Witkoff had proposed a 60-day truce that would see Hamas release 10 living hostages and the bodies of 18 dead hostages in two phases, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees held in Israeli jails. He also said that negotiations on a final agreement to end the war would begin on the first day of the accepted Witkoff's plan, but Hamas rejected it, partly because it did not include a guarantee that the temporary ceasefire would lead to a permanent one. Israeli media reported that Israeli officials were examining the new proposal and Hamas's to public broadcaster Kan, Netanyahu has not ruled out the possibility of a partial deal despite his recent statements that he will only accept a comprehensive Saturday night, his office put out a statement saying that Israel would "agree to a deal on condition that all the hostages are released in one go, and in accordance with our conditions for ending the war".Those conditions included the disarming of Hamas, the demilitarisation of Gaza, Israeli control of the Gaza perimeter, and the installation of a non-Hamas and non-Palestinian Authority governance, it said in a video on Monday that he had discussed with senior Israeli military commanders their "plans regarding Gaza City and the completion of our missions"."Like you, I hear the reports in the media, and from them you can get one impression - Hamas is under immense pressure," he President Donald Trump meanwhile wrote on social media: "We will only see the return of the remaining hostages when Hamas is confronted and destroyed!!! The sooner this takes place, the better the chances of success will be."However, the families of hostages fear the new offensive in Gaza City could endanger those being held Sunday night, hundreds of thousands of Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv to demand that their government agree a deal with Hamas to end the war now and bring all the hostages home. Netanyahu accused the demonstrators of hardening Hamas's negotiating Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken least 62,004 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health of Gaza's population has also been displaced multiple times; more than 90% of homes are estimated to be damaged or destroyed; the healthcare, water, sanitation and hygiene systems have collapsed; and UN-backed global food security experts have warned that the "worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out" due to food shortages.
Al Mayadeen
3 days ago
- Politics
- Al Mayadeen
US envoy Barrack: In coming weeks, we will witness a development that will reflect a better life for the Lebanese people and neighboring countries.
Latest Gaza ceasefire proposal includes temporary suspension of military operations for 60 days, Egyptian official source to Reuters Senior Palestinian source to Al Mayadeen: The proposal stipulates the release of all children and women Senior Palestinian source to Al Mayadeen: In exchange for every body of an Israeli killed, 10 Palestinian bodies will be released Senior Palestinian source to Al Mayadeen: The proposal stipulates opening the Rafah crossing in both directions, in accordance with the previous agreement Senior Palestinian source to Al Mayadeen: The United Nations and its agencies, as well as the Red Crescent and international organizations operating in Gaza are the sides that receive and distribute aid Senior Palestinian source to Al Mayadeen: The aid includes fuel, water, electricity, hospital and bakery rehabilitation, and rubble removal equipment Senior Palestinian source to Al Mayadeen: Aid will be sent to the Gaza Strip immediately after the agreement enters into force in intensive and coordinated quantities, in accordance with the January 19, 2025, agreement Senior Palestinian source to Al Mayadeen: The proposal stipulates amending the redeployment maps in the north and east Senior Palestinian source to Al Mayadeen: 1,500 Gaza detainees will be released Senior Palestinian source to Al Mayadeen: In exchange for 10 living captives, 140 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences and 60 serving sentences of more than 15 years will be released
Al Mayadeen
3 days ago
- Politics
- Al Mayadeen
Larijani: Hezbollah's epics in confronting the Israeli entity's aggression against Lebanon prevented it from prevailing on the ground
Latest Gaza ceasefire proposal includes temporary suspension of military operations for 60 days, Egyptian official source to Reuters Senior Palestinian source to Al Mayadeen: The proposal stipulates the release of all children and women Senior Palestinian source to Al Mayadeen: In exchange for every body of an Israeli killed, 10 Palestinian bodies will be released Senior Palestinian source to Al Mayadeen: The proposal stipulates opening the Rafah crossing in both directions, in accordance with the previous agreement Senior Palestinian source to Al Mayadeen: The United Nations and its agencies, as well as the Red Crescent and international organizations operating in Gaza are the sides that receive and distribute aid Senior Palestinian source to Al Mayadeen: The aid includes fuel, water, electricity, hospital and bakery rehabilitation, and rubble removal equipment Senior Palestinian source to Al Mayadeen: Aid will be sent to the Gaza Strip immediately after the agreement enters into force in intensive and coordinated quantities, in accordance with the January 19, 2025, agreement Senior Palestinian source to Al Mayadeen: The proposal stipulates amending the redeployment maps in the north and east Senior Palestinian source to Al Mayadeen: 1,500 Gaza detainees will be released Senior Palestinian source to Al Mayadeen: In exchange for 10 living captives, 140 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences and 60 serving sentences of more than 15 years will be released
Al Mayadeen
3 days ago
- Politics
- Al Mayadeen
Larijani: Our duty is to stand by our brethren and provide them with assistance, but we do not issue orders
Latest Gaza ceasefire proposal includes temporary suspension of military operations for 60 days, Egyptian official source to Reuters Senior Palestinian source to Al Mayadeen: The proposal stipulates the release of all children and women Senior Palestinian source to Al Mayadeen: In exchange for every body of an Israeli killed, 10 Palestinian bodies will be released Senior Palestinian source to Al Mayadeen: The proposal stipulates opening the Rafah crossing in both directions, in accordance with the previous agreement Senior Palestinian source to Al Mayadeen: The United Nations and its agencies, as well as the Red Crescent and international organizations operating in Gaza are the sides that receive and distribute aid Senior Palestinian source to Al Mayadeen: The aid includes fuel, water, electricity, hospital and bakery rehabilitation, and rubble removal equipment Senior Palestinian source to Al Mayadeen: Aid will be sent to the Gaza Strip immediately after the agreement enters into force in intensive and coordinated quantities, in accordance with the January 19, 2025, agreement Senior Palestinian source to Al Mayadeen: The proposal stipulates amending the redeployment maps in the north and east Senior Palestinian source to Al Mayadeen: 1,500 Gaza detainees will be released Senior Palestinian source to Al Mayadeen: In exchange for 10 living captives, 140 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences and 60 serving sentences of more than 15 years will be released
