Hamas says it expects quick response to its new ideas for ceasefire
Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan has told AFP that the group expects a response “likely today or tomorrow morning” to its new ideas for halting the Gaza war and freeing the captives.
With Israeli negotiators scheduled to arrive in Qatar for talks with mediators, Hamdan said the group’s military wing remains “in a good condition that allows it to continue” to fight Israeli forces.
New UK Foreign Secretary Lammy backs ‘immediate ceasefire’ in Gaza
The United Kingdom’s newly appointed Foreign Secretary David Lammy has reiterated his support for international efforts to secure an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza and the release of remaining captives.
“The job now is to get to work with tireless diplomacy to support an immediate ceasefire and move towards getting those hostages out,” Lammy told UK broadcasters in his first comments after being appointed as the country’s top diplomat.
Mothers of captives take to the streets in Israel to demand ceasefire deal
The mothers and relatives of captives held in Gaza have marched in the streets of Tel Aviv to demand that the Netanyahu government reach a deal with Hamas to bring their loved ones home.
“Mothers, parade for the release of our children. We have 120 hostages in Gaza [and] we are waiting for them to come home,” Daniela Gilboa, the mother of a soldier who was taken captive in Gaza, said.
Gilboa called on the parties to agree on a ceasefire deal currently being discussed in Doha. “We ask all of you, all the people that are involved in it, please make it happen. Please bring our children back home,” she said.
Netanyahu has been under increasing pressure from the Israeli public to reach a deal. The Association of Families of Israeli Prisoners Detained in Gaza on Wednesday said that if the deal is not accepted, millions of Israelis will take to the street in protest.
Negotiations for Gaza ceasefire to continue next week, Netanyahu says
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office says Israel’s spy chief David Barnea has left the Qatari capital Doha after an initial meeting with mediators, trying to reach a ceasefire and hostage release deal.
Negotiations will resume next week, the office said, adding that a new delegation will be sent. In its statement, the office also said that gaps remain between the two sides.
The renewed push to end the bloodshed in Gaza came after Hamas said it presented new “ideas” to mediators on how to reach a final deal.
More talk, still no results, only more death.
