US, Egypt ‘hopeful’ of Gaza truce
US top diplomat Antony Blinken yesterday said he was "hopeful" Hamas would accept the latest proposal for a long-sought Gaza truce and hostage release deal as negotiators from the Palestinian group were due in Egypt.
Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been trying to mediate an agreement between Israel and Hamas for months, and a recent flurry of diplomacy appeared to suggest a new push towards halting the fighting.
Talks "are taking place in Cairo today", said Al-Qahera News, which is linked to Egyptian intelligence services. It was not clear whether the Hamas delegation had already arrived, but Qatari mediators were also in Cairo according to a source with knowledge of the talks.
- Hamas has no 'major issues' with the truce plan
- 40-day ceasefire offered to Hamas: Cameron
- Death toll in enclave rises to 34,488
A senior Hamas official said the Palestinian group had no "major issues" with the most recent truce plan, reports AFP.
Blinken told a World Economic Forum meeting in Saudi Arabia he was "hopeful" Hamas would accept a truce. "Hamas has before it a proposal that is extraordinarily, extraordinarily generous on the part of Israel," Blinken said, urging the group to "decide quickly". "I'm hopeful that they will make the right decision."
Speaking at the same meeting, Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said "the proposal has taken into account the positions of both sides."
While there was no "final decision" yet, Shoukry said: "We are hopeful... I hope that all will rise to the occasion."
The current proposal includes a sustained 40-day ceasefire and the release of potentially thousands of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of Israeli hostages, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said yesterday.
The offensive has brought the besieged Gaza Strip to the brink of famine, UN and humanitarian aid groups say, reduced much of the territory to rubble and raised fears of a wider regional conflict.
In southern Gaza, witnesses and rescuers reported Israeli air strikes overnight on Rafah, where the majority of Gaza's 2.4 million people have sought refuge near the border with Egypt.
At least 30 people were killed in the city, medics and the Civil Defence agency said, with witnesses telling that at least three houses had been hit, reports Reuters.
The Israeli military said it was checking the report. At least 34,488 Palestinians have been killed and 77,643 were injured in Israel's military offensive on Gaza since October 7, a statement by Gaza's health ministry said yesterday. Some 34 were killed and 68 injured in the last 24 hours, the statement added.
US President Joe Biden spoke on Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and "reiterated his clear position" on a possible invasion of the Gaza border city of Rafah, the White House said.
Washington has said that it could not support a Rafah operation without an appropriate and credible humanitarian plan.
Meanwhile, the Hamas group's al Qassam Brigades said yesterday they had fired a salvo of missiles from south Lebanon at an Israeli military position.
Air raid sirens went off in northern Israel near the border with Lebanon but there were no immediate reports of casualties.
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