SOURCE :- THE AGE NEWS
By Natalie Melzer and Wafaa Shurafa
Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is sending the director of the Mossad foreign intelligence agency to ceasefire negotiations in Qatar, in a sign of progress in talks on the war in Gaza.
It was not immediately clear when David Barnea would travel to Qatar’s capital, Doha, for the latest round of indirect talks between Israel and the Hamas militant group, but there is US pressure for a deal before the presidential inauguration on January 20. Barnea’s presence means high-level Israeli officials who would need to sign off on any agreement are now involved.
Smoke rises following an explosion in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel on Thursday.Credit: AP
Just one brief ceasefire has been achieved in 15 months of war, and that was in the earliest weeks of fighting. The talks mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar have repeatedly stalled since.
A phased ceasefire is being discussed, with Netanyahu signalling he is committed only to the first phase, a partial hostage release in exchange for a week-long pause in fighting.
Hamas wants a full Israeli troop withdrawal from the largely devastated territory, but Netanyahu has insisted on destroying Hamas’ ability to fight in Gaza. On Thursday, Gaza’s Health Ministry said more than 46,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war – the majority women and children – though it doesn’t say how many were fighters or civilians.
Also being sent to Qatar are the head of Israel’s Shin Bet internal security agency, and military and political advisers. Netanyahu’s office said the decision followed a meeting with his defence minister, security chiefs and negotiators “on behalf of the outgoing and incoming US administrations”.
The office also released a photo showing Netanyahu with President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, who was in Qatar this week.
Families of the roughly 100 hostages still held in Gaza after being seized in the October 7, 2023 militant attack Netanyahu to reach a deal to bring their loved ones home. Israelis rallied again Saturday night in Tel Aviv, with photos of hostages on display.
“We join together in the hope that the talks in Doha succeed,” outgoing US ambassador Jack Lew said at the rally. “We’re encouraged by the news today, but we know we can’t stop.”
The recovery of two hostages’ bodies in the past week renewed fears that time is running out. Hamas has said that after months of heavy fighting, it isn’t sure who is alive or dead.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this week a deal is “very close” and he hoped to complete it before handing over diplomacy to the incoming Trump administration. But US officials have expressed similar optimism on several occasions over the past year.
Issues in the talks have included which hostages would be released in the first part of a phased ceasefire deal, which Palestinian prisoners would be released and the extent of any Israeli troop withdrawal from population centres in Gaza.
Hamas and other groups killed some 1200 people and took about 250 hostages into Gaza in the attack that started the war. A truce in November 2023 freed more than 100 hostages, while others have been rescued or their remains have been recovered over the past year.
Israel’s military announced the deaths of four soldiers in northern Gaza on Saturday, without details. At least 400 soldiers have been killed in the war. Six others were killed this week in largely isolated northern Gaza, where Israel has been pressing an offensive against regrouping Hamas militants.
The Israeli military says it has killed more than 17,000 militants during the war, without providing evidence.
On Saturday, an airstrike killed a five-year-old girl and two male relatives in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, according to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, where an AP team saw them.
Another Israeli airstrike killed at least eight Palestinians including two children and two women in a school-turned-shelter in northern Gaza, according to the Civil Defence, first responders affiliated with the Hamas-run government. It said the strike on the Halawa school, which shelters displaced people in the Jabaliya area, also wounded 30 others, including 19 children.
Israel’s military said it struck a Hamas command centre at a former school in Jabaliya, without giving evidence.
And a strike killed four people on a street in Gaza City, said Civil Defence spokesperson Mahmoud Basal. Overall, Gaza’s Health Ministry said at least 32 bodies had arrived at hospitals in the past 24 hours.
AP
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