A new round of indirect talks between Israel and Hamas will begin today in Qatar in an attempt to reach a ceasefire and the release of hostages from Gaza, a Palestinian source close to the talks told AFP.
The source said that mediators have informed Hamas that a new round of talks will begin in Doha, adding that a delegation from the Palestinian Islamist movement, led by Khalil al-Hajja, has already arrived.
Israeli public television reported early this afternoon that an Israeli delegation was on its way to Doha.
The talks will concern the terms of a possible ceasefire agreement, particularly the release of Hamas hostages in Gaza and imprisoned Palestinians in Israel, the same source said.
Hamas also wants approval for increased humanitarian aid deliveries to the Palestinian Gaza Strip, the source said, as well as guarantees for a "permanent end to the war."
To enable the evacuation of the wounded, Hamas is still demanding the reopening of the Rafah Crossing, on the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, which has been under Israeli control since May 2024.
Hamas spokesman Jihad Taha told AFP today that Hamas is calling on all Palestinian political groups to work to ensure that Gaza "is fully Palestinian in the future," opposing any future influence by Israel or the international community on the territory.
According to Palestinian sources close to the talks, the proposal submitted to Hamas includes a 60-day ceasefire, during which Hamas will release 10 hostages and hand over a number of bodies of dead hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinians from Israeli prisons.
On Friday, Hamas announced that it was ready to immediately participate in negotiations on a ceasefire proposal, made by the United States (US) and conveyed to it by Qatari and Egyptian mediators. Hamas said it had responded to the proposal, but did not release details.
The day after that, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced that it had been informed of the changes Hamas wanted to make to the proposal and that it considered them "unacceptable", but that "after assessing the situation" it was still sending a delegation with "instructions on how to respond... based on the Qatari proposal that Israel accepted."
Netanyahu has a key meeting in Washington on Monday with the initiator of the peace solution, US President Donald Trump.
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