Israel-Hamas Negotiations

Netanyahu Dispatches Negotiating Team for Gaza Talks

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved sending a negotiating team to participate in talks with aims of reaching a hostage release and ceasefire deal with Hamas, according to an Israeli official quoted by The Times of Israel. Netanyahu spoke on the phone with United States President Joe Biden regarding the negotiations, and vowed ...

Israel to Dispatch Delegation Next Week for Gaza Talks

The Israeli prime minister's spokesman said Friday that "gaps" remained with Hamas on how to secure a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release but Israel will send a delegation for more talks with Qatari mediators next week. The head of the Mossad spy service held a first round of talks in Doha on Friday and returned to Jerusalem. "It was agreed that ...

Hamas Official Says Israeli 'Massacres' Harden Gaza Truce Position

A top Hamas official said on Wednesday that “intensifying” Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip would harden the Palestinian group's negotiating position in mediation efforts towards a truce. In recent days, Israeli forces have increased raids in northern Gaza as heavy fighting raged again in the far-southern city of Rafah. And ...

Netanyahu Demands Israeli Control of Southern Gaza Territory

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanded Thursday that Israel retain control of key Gaza territory along the border with Egypt as part of any accord to suspend the war with Hamas. The condition conflicts with Hamas's position that Israel must withdraw from all Gaza territory after a ceasefire. Speaking after the return of Israeli negotiators ...

Israeli Delegation's Doha Trip for Gaza Talks Postponed

The arrival of an Israeli delegation in Doha for discussions on new demands for a truce in Gaza has been postponed, a source with knowledge of the talks said Wednesday. Speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of discussions, the source told AFP that the meetings, which had been scheduled for Thursday, were postponed until ...

Gaza Mediators, Israel Spy Chief to Meet in Rome

Egyptian, Qatari and US mediators are to meet with Israeli negotiators in the Italian capital Sunday in the latest push for a Gaza truce, Egyptian state-linked media said. "A four-way meeting between Egyptian officials and their American and Qatari counterparts, in the presence of Israel's intelligence chief, will be held in Rome on Sunday to ...

Pressure for Truce Deal Builds, as Gaza Toll Tops 40,000

Pressure is mounting for a Gaza ceasefire as talks resumed Thursday in Qatar, aiming to stop the spread of a war that the territory's Health Ministry said has killed 40,000. A source with knowledge of the talks confirmed to AFP that they had begun in the Qatari capital Doha. The source did not disclose whether Hamas had dispatched any delegates ...

Hamas Rejects 'New Conditions' in Proposed Gaza Deal

Hamas said Friday the Palestinian group rejected "new conditions" in a Gaza ceasefire plan the United States presented after two days of talks with Israeli negotiators in Qatar. As international pressure mounted for a ceasefire after more than 10 months of war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, US President Joe Biden said: "We are closer ...

Gaza Humanitarian Operations Halted, Polio Outbreak Increasing

The United Nations said Monday it had been forced to halt its humanitarian operations in Gaza due to a new Israeli evacuation order for the Deir al-Balah area, a senior UN official said. "We are not operating today. As of this morning, we're not operating in Gaza," the official said, adding that since the start of the war the UN has sometimes had ...

Partial Strike and Protests in Israel Over Gaza Hostages

A strike on Monday called by Israel's largest labor union shuttered parts of the country to pressure the government into reaching a Gaza deal to free hostages, though several sectors were unaffected. The Histadrut trade union called a nationwide strike beginning at 6:00 AM (0300 GMT), a day after mass demonstrations following the army's ...