Gaza
\nNegotiations over a potential Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal are set to resume in Doha in the coming days, officials from the US, Israel and Qatar have said.
\nA spokesperson for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said an Israeli delegation will travel to Qatar on Sunday.
\nIt is not yet clear whether Hamas has agreed to participate in the talks.
\nThe US believes the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar last week – seen as one of the group\u2019s most extreme figures – may open the door to an agreement, though Hamas has accused Israel of being the primary block to any deal.
\n\u201cWith Sinwar gone,\u201d US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told journalists, \u201cthere is a real opportunity to bring [the hostages] home and to accomplish the objective.\u201d
\nThat objective, Mr Blinken said, was to reach a deal \u201cso that Israel can withdraw, so that Hamas cannot reconstitute, and so that the Palestinian people can rebuild their lives and rebuild their futures\u201d.
\nQatar\u2019s foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said Qatari mediators had \u201cre-engaged\u201d with Hamas since Sinwar\u2019s death, but there was \u201cno clarity\u201d over the groups current plans with regards to ceasefire talks.
\n\u201cThere has been an engagement with the representatives from the political office in Doha. We had some meetings with them in the last couple of days,\u201d he said, adding that Egypt was also in \u201congoing\u201d discussions with Hamas.
\nA Hamas delegation met with Egyptian intelligence officials in Cairo on Thursday evening to discuss the situation in Gaza, one senior Palestinian official and one Egyptian official told the BBC.
\nPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a post on X that he welcomes Egypt\u2019s \u201creadiness to advance a deal for the release of the hostages\u201d.
\nPrevious discussions over the long-sought after deal have centred around a proposal from US President Joe Biden in May, which was \u201cpositively\u201d received by Hamas.
\nThat proposal laid out a three-step plan that would begin with a six-week ceasefire, in which the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) would withdraw from populated areas of Gaza.
\nThere would also be a \u201csurge\u201d of humanitarian aid, as well as an exchange of some hostages for Palestinian prisoners.
\nIt would eventually lead to a permanent \u201ccessation of hostilities\u201d and a major reconstruction plan for Gaza.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Gaza Negotiations over a potential Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal are set to resume in Doha in the coming days, officials from the US, Israel and Qatar have said. A spokesperson for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said an Israeli delegation will travel to Qatar on Sunday. It is not yet clear whether Hamas […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":193732,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-439666","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n