Qatar, Egypt say they will continue to work for Gaza ceasefire
Qatar and Egypt have released a joint statement to affirm their continued mediation efforts to reach an agreement that ends the war on Gaza, alleviates the humanitarian suffering, and ensures the protection of civilians and the exchange of Israeli captives and Palestinian prisoners.
The two countries noted some progress in the latest round of the talks, which lasted for three weeks, and emphasised that it is normal in the context of complex negotiations to suspend engagement to hold consultations.
They said supposed leaks are circulating on a number of media outlets in order to “diminish” the efforts and influence the course of the negotiations. These leaks “do not reflect reality” and are “issued by parties uninformed about the progress of the negotiations”.
Qatar and Egypt said international media must remain ethically responsible in their reporting so they won’t undermine efforts to end the war that has caused much suffering.
Israeli families urge US to act in securing captives’ release during meeting with Rubio
A group of Israeli families has met Secretary of State Marco Rubio, urging the US to take all possible steps to bring back the captives.
“We trust that President Trump and his administration will do everything in their power to ensure this deal does not collapse and that this pressing opportunity is not lost,” the families said in a statement, adding that Rubio reaffirmed his “unwavering commitment – 100% – to achieving a hostage deal”.
What’s happening with Gaza ceasefire, captives release talks?
There has been a lot of news in the past few days on prospects for a deal between Hamas and Israel. Here’s the latest:
- Israel and the United States withdrew their delegations on Thursday from the ceasefire talks in Qatar, hours after Hamas submitted its response to a truce proposal.
- Sources initially said that the Israeli withdrawal was only for consultations and did not necessarily mean the talks had reached a crisis.
- Hours later, US special envoy Steve Witkoff said he was cutting short talks, accusing Hamas of “acting in good faith”.
- Hamas said it was surprised by Witkoff’s remarks, affirming its eagerness to continue negotiations.
- Earlier today, Netanyahu and Trump made comments that appear to leave little or no room for further discussion.
- Netanyahu said Israel was now mulling “alternative” options to achieve its goals of bringing the captives home from Gaza and ending Hamas rule in the enclave.
- “Hamas really didn’t want to make a deal. I think they want to die. And it’s very bad. And it got to be to a point where you’re going to have to finish the job,” Trump told reporters.
- Qatar and Egypt released a joint statement to affirm their continued mediation efforts to reach an agreement, emphasising that it is normal in the context of complex negotiations to suspend engagement to hold consultations. They also said that progress had been made in the latest round of talks.
