Negotiations take over in Qatar while the Israeli chief should speak with the American president, who said that an agreement could be concluded this week.
Israel and Hamas organize indirect talks in Qatar for a second day, aimed at obtaining a cease-fire and a captive agreement in Gaza, before a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump in Washington, DC.
The last series of war negotiations in Gaza began on Sunday in Doha, aimed at negotiating an agreement on a truce and the release of captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. The American president said that an agreement could be concluded this week.
But even if the talks continue, Israel has not stopped attacks in Gaza. Israeli forces killed at least 61 Palestinians on air strikes and bombardments on Monday, the Tel Aviv Tribune told Tel Aviv Tribune.
This includes at least three Palestinians killed near a Distribution Center for aid to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation north of Rafah, in the southern gaza band.
Before leaving on Sunday for the United States, Netanyahu said that Israeli negotiators had received clear instructions to make a cease-fire under conditions that Israel has accepted.
“We have brought out the hostages a lot, but concerning the remaining hostages, many of them will come out,” he told journalists, adding that his meeting with Trump could “help to advance this agreement”.
Of the 251 captives taken by Palestinian fighters during the October 2023 attack, 49 are still detained in Gaza, including 27 people according to which Israeli soldiers say they are dead.
Netanyahu had previously declared that Hamas’ response to a draft proposal for a cease-fire supported by the United States, transmitted through Qatari and Egyptian mediators, contained “unacceptable” requests.
Nour Odeh of Tel Aviv Tribune, reporting from Jordan because Israel has prohibited the network from reporting to Israel and the occupied West Bank, said that Netanyahu “cannot go against Trump wishes”, adding that the Trump-Nestanyahu meeting is set up as a “very important meeting” for the regional agenda of Israel, not just Gaza.
“There are disagreements within the Israeli cabinet, which he will find it difficult to adopt, in particular on issues of redeployment and distribution of food aid,” she said, stressing that Netanyahu is under pressure from Trump and his coalition at home.
Trump should meet the Israeli chief around 6.30 p.m. local time (10:30 p.m. GMT) on Monday, said the White House, without the usual presence of journalists.
Truce talks were relaunched after the American and air strikes last month on Iran.
Finish the war the collage point
The proposal supported by the United States for a 60-day ceasefire provides for a progressive release of captives, withdrawals of Israeli troops from certain parts of Gaza and discussions on the end of the war.
The conclusion of the war was the main point of collision in the past past of talks, Hamas fully demanding the conflict in exchange for the release of all the captives, and Israel insisting that it would fight until Hamas is dismantled.
Some of the partners of the Netanyahu Hardline coalition oppose the end of the fighting. However, the Israelis having become increasingly tired of the 21-month war, his government should support a cease-fire.
Since the Hamas attack in October 2023 and the Israeli offensive that followed in Gaza, the mediators have negotiated two temporary stops in the fighting. They saw captives released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in police custody.
The recent efforts to negotiate a new truce have failed several times, the main discord being the rejection by Israel of Hamas’ demand for a sustainable ceasefire.
The Israel genocidal campaign in Gaza killed more than 57,500 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health authorities, led to a hunger crisis, moved almost the entire population and left most of the ruined territory.