Hamas official welcomes Qatari PM and Turkish, Egyptian spy chiefs to Gaza talks

Izzat al-Risheq, a member of the Palestinian group’s political bureau, has welcomed Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, the head of Turkiye’s spy agency, Ibrahim Kalin, and the head of the Egyptian Intelligence Service, Hassan Mahmoud Rashad, to ongoing ceasefire negotiations in the Egyptian town of Sharm el-Sheikh.

In a statement, the Palestinian group said the officials give the negotiations a “strong impetus to achieve positive results towards a ceasefire and a prisoner exchange”.

Hamas added that the inclusion of the officials “narrows Netanyahu’s room for manoeuvre to continue the aggression and derail the negotiations”.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad to join Gaza truce talks in Egypt

A delegation from the armed group will arrive in Egypt tonight to participate in the indirect negotiations in Sharm el-Sheikh between Israel and Hamas, according to the PIJ statement.

PIJ is currently holding Israeli captives. It is the smaller of the two main Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip and is vastly outnumbered by the governing Hamas group.

Since Trump announced ceasefire plan, Israel escalated destruction of Gaza City

Since the US president’s announcement of a potential ceasefire plan, there has been a clear shift in Israeli military tactics on the ground. Instead of easing, the bombardment of Gaza City has intensified.

Palestinians report that Israeli forces are scaling up attacks aimed at the systematic destruction of the city’s remaining infrastructure, flattening what is left of residential buildings, public facilities and entire neighbourhoods.

The army is reportedly using remote-controlled explosive robots, alongside air attacks and heavy artillery, to demolish densely built areas. Fighter jets have targeted wide boulevards and high-rise blocks in the city centre, leaving large sections of Gaza City reduced to rubble.

Despite talk of a potential agreement, many in Gaza believe the Israeli military is rushing to complete the destruction before any truce takes effect. On the ground, people describe what feels like the final stage of destruction, an effort to render Gaza uninhabitable by erasing all means of life.

German opposition calls on government to exert pressure on Israel for Gaza peace

The opposition Left Party has called on the government to use its economic leverage to pressure Israel into stopping its military offensive in Gaza and accepting the widely endorsed peace plan.

“We call on the German government to exert pressure on Israel to achieve peace. Because peace will only come if there is pressure on Israel,” party’s co-chair Jan van Aken said.

“Because at the moment, the right-wing extremists in the Israeli government are not ready for peace. Economic pressure is also needed,” he said.

A survey released last month showed that 62 percent of German voters believe Israeli actions in Gaza constitute a genocide, mounting pressure on the centre-right government to reassess its stance towards Israel.

Spain’s parliament approves Israel arms embargo

Spanish lawmakers have approved the enshrinement in law of an arms embargo on Israel that Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez introduced to end the genocide in Gaza.

The decree passed by a 178-169 vote after it was announced in September by Sanchez, one of the most vocal critics among world leaders of Israel’s two-year war in the Palestinian territory.

Spain bans defence exports, transit of military-use goods to Israel

We now have more lines for you on Spain’s parliament passing a law that puts an arms embargo on Israel.

The decree bans all exports of defence equipment, products or technology to Israel, and imports of such goods from the country. It also outlaws the transit of aviation fuel with potential military use and bans the advertising of products “coming from illegal colonies in Gaza and the [occupied] West Bank”.

The law allows the government to make exceptions for dual-use defence equipment “if the application of the ban harmed general national interests”.

The Spanish government says it had already banned buying weapons from or selling them to Israel since the start of the war on October 7, 2023.

But PM Pedro Sanchez announced last month a decree to “consolidate in law” the embargo as part of a series of measures against Israel’s offensive.

Russia backs US Gaza plan, calls for full restoration of humanitarian access

Russia supports the Gaza settlement plan proposed by US President Donald Trump, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova has said.

“We support the US administration’s plan for Gaza, which includes a ceasefire, the release of detainees, and the full restoration of humanitarian access,” Zakharova told reporters in Moscow as she stressed the importance of fully implementing all provisions of the proposal.

Zakharova recalled that Russia had earlier submitted several draft resolutions to the UN Security Council calling for a ceasefire and the delivery of humanitarian aid. “These initiatives were blocked by Westerners,” she noted.

She reiterated that the main priority remains halting the violence and preventing further civilian casualties.

“We are convinced that the root cause of the tragic events in both Gaza and the West Bank is the deprivation of the Palestinian people’s sovereign right to determine their own destiny,” she said.

Hamas, Israel continue to have ‘serious disagreements’

Despite a series of positive remarks from Hamas and Egyptian President el-Sisi describing the ongoing negotiations as “very encouraging”, Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst, Marwan Bishara, says the talks remain tense.

“You could say that the initial phase of the initial phase is working out,” Bishara noted. According to him, both sides appeared to agree on “some sort of parameters” for a captive-prisoner exchange.

But there are also “some serious disagreements”, he said, warning that a major sticking point is emerging over how and when the war itself should end.

“According to the plan, … after Hamas hands over the captives, then the war should be over,” Bishara said. “Israel says no, the war will be over only after Hamas disarms.”

Netanyahu’s endgame is about eliminating prospect of Palestinian statehood

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is prolonging the war in Gaza to secure a political and ideological victory, according to Yousef Munayyer, head of the Palestine-Israel Program and senior fellow at the Arab Center Washington DC.

“Because Netanyahu has kept the genocidal war of revenge going,” Munayyer told Al Jazeera, “when this does ultimately end, he’ll have to face the Israeli public. So he wants to get out of Gaza with the best deal that he can get.”

That deal, Munayyer argues, is not just about defeating Hamas. It is about reshaping Gaza’s political reality and erasing the idea of Palestinian sovereignty altogether.

“He wants to be able to say not only that we have eliminated Hamas from Gaza, but that we have eliminated the idea of Palestinian presence and self-determination in Gaza,” he said.

For Netanyahu and his far-right governing coalition, maintaining control and a permanent presence in Gaza has become a central goal. “They feel very strongly about this,” Munayyer said, “not to mention the issues around maintaining a presence.”

Trump says he may go to the Middle East for Gaza deal

Trump says he may travel to the Middle East this weekend as his negotiators seek to seal a captives-for-ceasefire deal in Gaza. Trump said at the White House that a deal is “very close” and he may depart on Saturday. He spoke after talking to his team about the talks being held in Egypt.

“‘Peace for the Middle East,’ that’s a beautiful phrase, and we hope it’s going to come true, but it’s very close, and they’re doing very well,” Trump said. “We have a great team over there, great negotiators, and there are, unfortunately, great negotiators on the other side also. But it’s something I think that will happen.”

Jared Kushner’s presence in Egypt amid negotiations ‘suspicious’

It’s laughable. He doesn’t have an official position in the administration as far as I know.

[Trump’s son-in-law Jared] Kushner’s probably going to be talking a lot to Ron Dermer, Netanyahu’s man in Cairo. I think it’s quite suspicious. His presence there is to make sure that everything the Israelis want is delivered.

And as you know, we know from previous negotiations, not only under Trump, but under all American presidents, that nothing is given to Hamas or the Palestinians or to Arab partners in the negotiations until it goes through Israel.

So I think he is probably there as traffic police, just to make sure that things go through Israel first before they go to the Arabs and the Palestinians.

US Secretary of State to skip Paris meeting on Gaza: Report

Marco Rubio will no longer attend a meeting in Paris on Thursday where European, Arab and other states are expected to discuss plans for Gaza’s post-war transition, the Reuters news agency has reported, quoting diplomatic sources.

The talks coincide with separate, indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas taking place in Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh resort over US President Donald Trump’s proposed plan for Gaza.

Five diplomatic sources told Reuters the US secretary of state had initially been expected to attend, but his presence was cancelled due to the ongoing government shutdown in the US.

A US official is still expected to represent Washington, though it is unclear who, the sources added. One European diplomat told Reuters that US participation was vital because nothing could move forward without it.

Israeli foreign minister slams Paris meeting to end war as ‘unnecessary and harmful’

Gideon Saar has sharply criticised a meeting due to be held in Paris on Thursday, where European, Arab and other diplomats are expected to discuss Gaza’s post-war transition and efforts towards a permanent ceasefire.

Saar described the French-led initiative as “unnecessary and harmful”, saying it had been “concocted behind Israel’s back at the sensitive timing of the negotiations in Sharm el-Sheikh”.

“We view this as yet another attempt by President [Emmanuel] Macron to divert attention from his domestic problems at Israel’s expense,” Saar posted on X.

The Israeli minister said there would be “no arrangements in Gaza formulated without Israel’s consent”, accusing France of “double standards” for supporting the principle that “Ukraine’s future cannot be decided without Ukraine” while, he said, attempting to make decisions about Gaza without Israel.

“Nothing about Israel without Israel,” Saar added. “Israel will not agree to the internationalisation of the conflict.”

All more evidence a path to the 2-state solution is not in the cards as far as Israel and US can continue to prevent it.

Israeli forces hit Gaza City

Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic report the Israeli army has struck the eastern part of the besieged area. It was not clear if there were any casualties. More details are awaited.

The continuous bombardment of Gaza City has razed the territory’s largest urban centre, killing dozens of people daily, destroying numerous residential buildings and schools, and forcing tens of thousands of Palestinians to flee to an unknown fate to the south, often while being attacked en route.

Since mid-August, when Israeli troops launched a new punishing assault on Gaza City, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) recorded more than 400,000 movements from northern to southern Gaza, mainly to Deir el-Balah and Khan Younis.

Report finds ‘serious inaccuracies’ in Israeli army’s Gaza animations

A new investigation by +972 Magazine, Local Call, Viewfinder, Swiss broadcaster SRF, and Scotland-based news outlet, The Ferret, say several Israeli army animations – including one depicting alleged Hamas tunnels under Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital – were problematic.

“A months-long investigation … analysed 43 animations produced by the Israeli army since October 7 and found that many contain serious spatial inaccuracies or prefabricated assets – sourced not from classified intelligence but rather from commercial libraries, content creators, and cultural institutions,” +972 Magazine revealed.

The investigation, which includes interviews with a number of Israeli soldiers linked to the productions, found that more than half of the army’s animations contained 3D assets taken from third-party sources.

The report stated that “over 50 different third-party assets” were identified, which were replicated “hundreds of times across animations of sites ranging from Gaza to Iran”.

“A parking lot from Washington state, scans from a boat-building workshop in Scotland, and commercial storefront kits from the video game industry – all of these have been inserted, without credit, into animations presented as ‘illustrations’ of Hamas bunkers or Iranian weapons facilities,” they said.