Hope flickers for Gaza truce as talks resume

The prospects for a potential end to Israel's offensive in Gaza seemed to gather pace, as negotiations would resume on Sunday in Qatar — a key mediator in the conflict — while an Israeli delegation was sent to Doha and Hamas said it was ready to "immediately" start talks involving a 60-day truce.

"Mediators informed Hamas that a new round of indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel will begin in Doha today, Sunday," said a Palestinian official familiar with the negotiations.

However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was scheduled to meet United States President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday, earlier dismissed Hamas' change requests to a draft US-backed ceasefire deal as "unacceptable".

It is unclear if a deal will be reached ahead of Netanyahu's White House meeting.

Hamas said on Friday it had responded to the US-backed proposal in a "positive spirit", a few days after Trump said Israel had agreed on "the necessary conditions to finalize" a 60-day truce.

Israel's state Kan TV News reported that the changes demanded by Hamas concern guarantees regarding a quick transition to negotiations to end the conflict, the inclusion of Turkiye among the guarantor countries of the agreement, as well as details related to the distribution of humanitarian aid and the withdrawal of Israeli military forces from the Gaza Strip.

However, recent efforts have repeatedly failed, with the primary point of contention being Israel's rejection of Hamas' demand for a lasting ceasefire. Netanyahu has insisted Hamas must be disarmed, a position refused by the militant group.

Across the Gaza Strip, Israeli airstrikes killed at least 38 Palestinians on Sunday, hospital officials said.

In Israel, the military said it had intercepted a missile launched from Yemen in the early hours of Sunday, with sirens activated in several parts of the country.

A spokesperson for Yemen's Houthi movement said several hours later that the group had fired a ballistic missile at central Israel's Jaffa area.

Short-term target

Adnan Hayajneh, a professor of international relations at Qatar University, said Netanyahu is only interested in an agreement for the short-term target of securing the release of Israeli captives.

"There's no hope that the ceasefire will continue" after all the captives are released, he said.

The October 2023 Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of more than 1,200 Israelis. Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 57,350 people in Gaza, mostly civilians. The United Nations considers the figures reliable.

Meanwhile, according to media reports, Hamas also wants humanitarian aid to be delivered through UN-led mechanisms instead of the US — and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which has faced mounting criticism for operational chaos.

Much of Gaza's 2.3 million population now relies on international aid after the 21-month conflict has largely devastated agriculture and other food sources, leaving many people in near-famine conditions.

Karima al-Ras, from Khan Younis in southern Gaza, said "we hope that a truce will be announced" to allow in more aid. "People are dying for flour," she said.

A recent report published by the Israeli daily Haaretz quoted Israeli soldiers as saying they had been ordered to shoot unarmed Palestinians, even when no threat was present. The Palestinian Health Ministry said on Saturday that Israeli forces had killed 743 people near Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites.

The UN has said the foundation allows Israel to use food as a weapon and violates humanitarian principles.

"It is clear that the Israeli military has shelled and shot at Palestinians trying to reach the distribution points," said UN human rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani on Friday. "We need an independent inquiry and we need accountability for these killings."

Agencies and Jan Yumul in Hong Kong contributed to this story.