Israel-Hamas Negotiations

Hamas Relays 'Positive' Response in Hostage Talks

Qatar announced on Tuesday that Hamas has issued a "positive" response to a proposal aimed at releasing hostages in exchange for temporarily halting the Gaza conflict, but Israel slammed the proposal for including unacceptable conditions set by Hamas. Qatar said Tuesday that Hamas has delivered a "positive" response to a proposal to free hostages ...

US Diplomatic Pressure for Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Intensifies

Negotiations between Hamas and international mediators were still underway in Cairo on Tuesday March 5, while US officials are increasingly critical about the impact of Israeli offensive in Gaza. International mediators and Hamas delegates were in Cairo Tuesday for talks to try to secure a pause in the war in Gaza ahead of the start of the Muslim ...

Fourth Day of Talks in Cairo on Israel-Hamas Truce

Negotiations in Cairo over a truce in Gaza entered their fourth day on Wednesday, as difficulties persist on both Israeli and Hamas sides over its terms. International mediators were set for a fourth day of talks with Hamas in Cairo on Wednesday after US President Joe Biden called on the militant group to agree to a truce deal with Israel by the ...

Hopes Build for Ceasefire in Gaza on the Brink of Famine

Efforts by mediators intensified on Tuesday March 19 to reach a truce in Gaza, where Israel is conducting an operation in the Palestinian territory's largest hospital complex on the brink of starvation. Efforts to hammer out a temporary truce in Gaza intensified Tuesday after months of war that have left parts of the devastated territory facing ...

France, Egypt FMs Push for Gaza Truce From Cairo

Egypt's top diplomat Sameh Shoukry said in a meeting on Wednesday with his French counterpart that parties "must show the necessary flexibility" to achieve a truce in Gaza "that stops the bloodshed of Palestinians." In a "quick visit" by French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné in Cairo, the pair "exchanged assessments on the ongoing truce ...

Blinken Calls on Hamas to Accept Ceasefire Proposal

US top diplomat Antony Blinken urged Hamas on Wednesday to accept a Gaza truce plan, despite an Israeli warning that the army will keep fighting the Palestinian militant group after any ceasefire. "Hamas needs to say yes and needs to get this done," said Blinken, who was in Israel on his seventh Middle East crisis tour since the war broke out in ...

Israel Simultaneously Attacks Rafah, Engages in Negotiations After Hamas' Response

Following Hamas' response to the ceasefire proposal mediated by Egypt and Qatar, Israel decided to persist in its planned military operation in Rafah while simultaneously deciding to send a delegation of negotiators to Cairo for talks. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh informed mediators Qatar and Egypt early on Monday evening that his Palestinian ...

Israel Seizes Rafah Crossing as Gaza Truce Talks Resume

Israel deployed tanks into Rafah on Tuesday, in southern Gaza, taking control of the border crossing with Egypt, an action that the United Nations stated obstructed access to the crucial humanitarian route. Israel sent tanks into Rafah in southern Gaza, seizing the border crossing with Egypt Tuesday, in an operation the United Nations said denied ...

Netanyahu and CIA Chief Discuss 'Pausing' Rafah Assault

An Israeli official said visiting CIA Director Bill Burns and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed Wednesday "the possibility" of suspending military operations in Gaza's Rafah in exchange for Hamas freeing hostages. Netanyahu and the US spy chief, who has been involved in mediation efforts in the Israel-Hamas war, met in Jerusalem as part ...

Israel Ends Gaza Talks and Proceeds to Bomb Rafah

Israel has submitted its reservations about a proposal for a hostage release deal to Gaza truce mediators, and considers this round of negotiations in Cairo to have ended, a senior Israeli official said to Reuters. The Israeli delegation is returning from the Egyptian capital and Israel will proceed with its operation in Rafah and other parts of ...

Biden Sets Out Plan for Gaza Peace; Hamas Say Proposal is "Positive"

US President Joe Biden said on Friday that Israel had offered a new roadmap towards permanent peace in Gaza, urging Hamas to accept the surprise deal as it was "time for this war to end." In his first major address outlining a solution to the eight-month conflict, Biden said the proposal started with a six-week phase that would see Israeli forces ...

Hamas Sends Mediators 'Ideas' for Halting Israel War

The Hamas militant group said Wednesday it has sent new "ideas" to Qatari mediators aimed at ending the nearly nine-month Gaza war with Israel. Israel confirmed that it was "evaluating" Hamas "comments" on a deal to release hostages in Palestinian territory and will respond accordingly. With the death toll from nearly nine months of war mounting ...