CAIRO (AP) — Negotiations aimed at securing a ceasefire in the civil war have stalled. war between israel and hamas Egyptian officials say a full-scale reopening is expected in Qatar as early as Sunday.
The talks will be the first time both Israeli officials and Hamas leaders have taken part in indirect negotiations since the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. International mediators had hoped to secure a six-week ceasefire in advance. Ramadan started earlier this weekHowever, Hamas rejects any agreement that does not lead to a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, and Israel rejects this demand.
But in recent days, both sides have made moves aimed at getting negotiations back on track, which had not completely broken down.
Palestinians perform the first Friday prayers of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan near the ruins of a mosque destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Friday, March 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Fatima Shubeir) )
Hamas presented the mediator with a new proposal for a three-step plan to end the fighting, according to two Egyptian officials, one involved in the talks and the other briefed on the talks. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss sensitive discussions.
The first phase is a six-week ceasefire, during which 35 hostages held by Gaza militants – women, sick and elderly people – will be released in exchange for 350 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. is.
Hamas also plans to release at least five female soldiers for each soldier in exchange for 50 prisoners, including some serving long sentences on terrorism charges. Israeli forces will withdraw from Gaza's two main roads and return displaced people to northern Gaza. destroyed by battleand allow the free flow of aid to the region, officials said.
Nearly one in three children under the age of two in the isolated north suffers from acute malnutrition, the United Nations children's agency said on Friday.
In the second phase, the two countries would declare a permanent ceasefire and Hamas would release the remaining Israeli soldiers held hostage in exchange for more prisoners, officials said.
In this photo provided by the Israeli military, a ship carrying humanitarian supplies from the United Arab Emirates-led World Central Kitchen (WCK) organization arrives at sea off the Gaza Strip on Friday, March 15, 2024. (via Israeli Army AP)
In the third phase, Hamas would hand over the bodies it is holding in exchange for Israel to lift its blockade of Gaza and begin reconstruction, officials said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the proposal “unrealistic.” However, he agreed to send Israeli negotiators to Qatar for further talks.
Egyptian officials said talks were expected to resume on Sunday afternoon, but could be pushed back to Monday.
Netanyahu's government has rejected calls for a permanent ceasefire, insisting it must first achieve its stated goal of “annihilating Hamas.”
In this photo provided by the Israeli military, humanitarian supplies from a ship belonging to the United Arab Emirates-led World Central Kitchen (WCK) organization arrive at sea in the Gaza Strip on Friday, March 15, 2024. . (Israeli Army) via AP)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced Friday that he had approved a military plan to attack Rafah, Gaza's southernmost town, where some 1.4 million displaced Palestinians, more than half the enclave's population, have taken refuge.
Following Israel's attack on Gaza, many Palestinians fled to Rafah. October 7 Hamas attack In southern Israel, 1,200 people were killed and another 250 were taken hostage.
The United States and other countries believe that the military Operation in Rafah could have disastrous resultsHowever, Israel says it plans to proceed with the annihilation of Hamas battalions stationed there.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office did not provide details or a timeline for Operation Rafah, but said it would involve the evacuation of civilians.the military said The plan was to guide civilians to “humanitarian islands.'' Located in the center of Gaza.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday that there is still no “clear and workable plan” to protect the innocent people of Rafah from an Israeli invasion.
In this photo provided by the Israeli military, humanitarian supplies from a ship belonging to the United Arab Emirates-led World Central Kitchen (WCK) organization arrive at sea in the Gaza Strip on Friday, March 15, 2024. . (Israeli Army) via AP)
Gaza's Health Ministry announced Saturday that at least 31,553 Palestinians have been killed in the war.Ministry do not differentiate Numbers among civilians and combatants are being counted, but says: women and children It accounts for two-thirds of the deaths.
At least 19 people, including nine children, were killed in an Israeli attack early Saturday morning when houses in the urban Nuseyrat refugee camp in central Gaza were destroyed, according to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital records. An Associated Press reporter who was there saw the body.
Israeli attacks have forced most of the Gaza Strip's 2.3 million people from their homes. A quarter of Gaza's population is starvingaccording to the United Nations
As part of an effort to bring desperately needed aid to Gaza, a ship Sea route from Cyprus on friday and unloaded 200 tons of humanitarian supplies. It was sent by the aid organization World Central Kitchen to people in northern Gaza.
The group announced on Saturday that it was preparing another ship in Cyprus to carry hundreds of tons of aid destined for Gaza.
Also on Saturday, Germany joined a group of countries including the United States and Jordan. airdrop of aid Over Gaza.Separate announcement in the US There are plans to build a pier. To get help.
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Associated Press writers Bassem Mourou in Beirut and Jack Jeffrey in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
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This version corrects the aid organization's name to World Central Kitchen.
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