CAIRO (AP) – Israel and Hamas prepared for indirect negotiations in Egypt on Monday.
Negotiations take place after President Donald Trump welcomes the statements of extremist groups it embraced Some elements of the US plan. Israel previously said it was supported New US efforts to end the war.
Egypt will host Israeli and Hamas delegations on Monday to discuss suggesting the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, the country’s foreign ministry said. According to Egyptian officials, US envoy Steve Witkov is also taking part in the talks.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the current situation was “closest to releasing all hostages.”
Speaking about ABC’s “this week,” he explained two phases after Hamas embraced the Trump framework. Hostages have been released and Israel will be redirected to the “Yellow Line” in August 2024.
Expanding international support for ceasefire
Foreign ministers from eight Muslim majority countries issued a statement on Sunday taking welcoming measures towards the possibility of a ceasefire.
In supporting Hamas’ willingness to hand over the operations of Gaza to the Interim Committee, the Minister called for an “immediate launch of negotiations agreeing to a mechanism for implementing the proposal.”
They also highlighted the revival of Palestinian authorities to Gaza, their commitment to unity in Gaza and the West Bank, and reached a security agreement that led to the “complete Israeli withdrawal” from Gaza.
Rubio noted that these decisions regarding the governing structure or international groups to manage Gaza could be made at the same time as the first step in a ceasefire, the exchange of hostages with Palestinian prisoners where Israel is being held.
“That’s the part that I find a bit difficult to do the job, but that’s what provides permanence at the end of the conflict,” he said.
At least 12 people were killed in Gaza after Trump demanded Israel stop the attack
Trump also ordered Israel To stop the bombing of Gaza, however, residents and local hospitals said strikes continued throughout the Gaza Strip over the weekend.
“Certain bombings actually stopped within the Gaza Strip, but at this point there is no ceasefire in place,” Israeli government spokeswoman Shosh Badrosian told journalists. She also said that Netanyahu has “regularly contacted” with Trump, and the prime minister emphasized that consultations in Egypt will be “limited to a maximum of a few days without tolerance for the manipulation of delaying consultations by Hamas.”
At least eight people have been killed in multiple strikes in the city, according to Shifa Hospital, who was the victim. Half of them were killed in a strike that struck a group of people in Gaza city, the hospital said.
Four people were killed in a shooting near an aid distribution site in Rafa’s southern city, Nasser Hospital said. Israeli forces said it was not involved in the shooting and did not immediately comment on the strike.
“We are on the brink of death. We don’t know if we’ll die of strikes and starvation,” said Mahmoud Hashem, the father of five Palestinians who were forced to evacuate in tents in the heart of Gaza city.
Gaza’s health ministry said Palestine’s death toll in the war reached 67,139 on Sunday, with nearly 170,000 people injured. The Ministry of Health does not distinguish how many of the people killed are civilians or combatants, but it says women and children make up about half of the deaths. The ministry is part of Hamas-run government, and the United Nations and many independent experts consider the figures to be the most reliable estimates of wartime casualties.
Israeli forces said on Saturday that they continued to work to dismantle Hamas infrastructure across the strip and warned residents not to return to northern Gaza.
Rubio said the US will consider Israeli operations over the weekend. This is because if Israel is moving towards trade, it cannot engage in aggressive combat.
“The Israelis say they only deal with the imminent threat, so that’s a key factor, so we’ll investigate either of them,” Rubio said.
“We need to make sure Hamas plays their role in this regard, but there are many opportunities here for those who want to sabotage it,” he added.
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Ridman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press author Andrew Wilk contributed from Istanbul.
