Madras Times - Israel, Hamas hold indirect talks ahead of Netanyahu-Trump meet

The latest round of negotiations on the war in Gaza began on Sunday in Doha, aiming to broker a ceasefire and reach an agreement on the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

A Palestinian official familiar with the negotiations told AFP a second session was held on Monday and ended with "no breakthrough".

The Hamas and Israeli delegations were due to resume talks later on Monday, the official said.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the delegations had exchanged views on Sunday via mediators, with representatives of the two sides seated in different rooms in the same building.

Ahead of Netanyahu's third visit since Trump's return to office this year, the US president said there was a "good chance we have a deal with Hamas... during the coming week".

"We've gotten a lot of the hostages out, but pertaining to the remaining hostages, quite a few of them will be coming out," he told journalists.

Netanyahu, speaking before heading to Washington, said his meeting with Trump could "definitely help advance this" deal after 21 months of war.

Netanyahu said he had dispatched the team to the Qatari capital with "clear instructions" to reach an agreement "under the conditions that we have agreed to".

He previously said Hamas's response to a draft US-backed ceasefire proposal, conveyed through Qatari and Egyptian mediators, contained "unacceptable" demands.

- 'Make history' -

Two Palestinian sources close to the discussions had earlier told AFP the proposal included a 60-day truce, during which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and several bodies in exchange for Palestinians detained by Israel.

However, they said, the group was also demanding certain conditions for Israel's withdrawal, guarantees against a resumption of fighting during negotiations, and the return of the UN-led aid distribution system.

Trump is scheduled to meet the Israeli premier at 2230 GMT Monday, the White House said, without the usual presence of journalists.

In Israel's coastal hub of Tel Aviv, hours before the meeting, an AFP photographer said dozens of people including relatives of hostages demonstrated to demand the release of the remaining captives.

"President Trump -- make history. Bring them all home. End the war," read a sign held by protesters outside the US diplomatic mission in the city.

Of the 251 hostages taken by Palestinian militants during the Hamas attack that triggered the war, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.

Since Hamas's October 2023 attack sparked the massive Israeli offensive, mediators have brokered two temporary halts in the fighting during which hostages were freed in exchange for Palestinians in Israeli custody.

Recent efforts to broker a new truce have repeatedly failed, with the primary point of contention being Israel's rejection of Hamas's demand for a lasting ceasefire.

- 'Can't take this anymore' -

In Gaza, the civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed at least 12 people on Monday, including six in a clinic housing people displaced by the war.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency.

The Israeli military did not respond to an AFP request for comment.

Salman Qudum, who told AFP he had survived the attack on the clinic in Gaza City, said: "We don't know where to go or what to do."

Qudum said the negotiators and mediators in Doha must "apply pressure" to secure a ceasefire "because the people can't take this anymore".

In a statement on Monday, the military said it had struck "dozens of terrorists, weapons depots, observation posts, military buildings and other terror infrastructures" across Gaza over the past 24 hours.

The war has created dire humanitarian conditions for the more than two million people in the Gaza Strip.

A US- and Israel-backed group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), took the lead in food distribution in the territory in late May, when Israel partially lifted a more than two-month blockade on aid deliveries.

But its operations have had a chaotic rollout, with repeated reports of aid seekers killed near its facilities while awaiting rations.

Hamas's October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 57,523 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The United Nations considers the figures reliable.

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F.Pathak--MT