فاس نيوز ميديا جريدة الكترونية جهوية تعنى بشؤون و أخبار جهة فاس مكناس – متجددة على مدار الساعة
Indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas are set to resume on Monday in Qatar, aiming to reach a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip. U.S. President Donald Trump expressed hope that a deal could be reached “this week” ahead of his evening meeting in Washington with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
On Sunday, Trump said there were “good chances” of achieving a ceasefire in the Palestinian territory devastated by 21 months of conflict. “We have already secured the release of many hostages, and regarding the remaining ones, a good number will be released. We believe this will happen this week,” he told reporters.
Before flying to the United States, Netanyahu said his meeting with Trump could “help advance the outcome we all hope for.”
A Palestinian official familiar with the talks said on Monday that indirect discussions were to resume in the morning in Doha between the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas and Israel. However, as of 12:30 GMT, there was no official confirmation of the talks resuming.
The negotiations focus on “mechanisms for implementing” a ceasefire agreement and a “prisoner exchange” involving hostages held in Gaza in return for Palestinians detained in Israel, the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
The Trump-Netanyahu meeting is scheduled for 18:30 EST (22:30 GMT) and will take place without the usual press presence, the White House said.
The U.S. president, who will meet Netanyahu for the third time in less than six months, is pushing for a truce in Gaza, which is facing a critical humanitarian situation.
According to the Palestinian official, an exploratory session took place Sunday evening in Doha via mediators, discussing “exchange of views on the mechanism for prisoner and hostage exchange, the ceasefire, and Israeli withdrawal.”
He added that the Hamas delegation was in one room and the Israeli delegation in another within the same building.
“Hamas is serious and keen to reach an agreement to end the war and the suffering of our people, provided the Israeli side shows good faith and does not seek to obstruct or delay the process,” the official said.
Last week, Netanyahu said he had given his negotiators “clear instructions” to reach an agreement “on the terms we have accepted.”
He described Hamas’s proposed changes to the U.S.-brokered plan, relayed by Qatari and Egyptian mediators, as “unacceptable.”
Palestinian sources close to the talks said the proposal included a 60-day truce during which Hamas would release ten living hostages and hand over bodies of deceased captives, in exchange for the release of Palestinians held by Israel.
Hamas’s requested changes reportedly concern the modalities of Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza, guarantees for cessation of hostilities after 60 days, and resumption of humanitarian aid distribution by the UN and recognized international organizations.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog, after meeting Netanyahu Sunday morning, said Netanyahu had an “important mission” in Washington: “to advance an agreement to bring all our hostages home.”
Of the 251 people abducted during Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which triggered the war, 49 remain held in Gaza, including 27 declared dead by the Israeli military.
Two previous ceasefires—a one-week truce in November 2023 and a two-month truce in early 2025—enabled the return of many hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinian detainees.
In Gaza, home to over two million people living in dire conditions according to the UN and NGOs, the Civil Defense reported 12 deaths on Monday due to Israeli fire or new bombings. AFP contacted the Israeli army for comment.
Due to media restrictions and limited access to Gaza, independent verification of claims by the parties remains extremely difficult.
The October 7 attack resulted in 1,219 Israeli deaths, mostly civilians, according to AFP’s tally based on official data.
At least 57,523 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in Israeli retaliations in Gaza, according to Hamas’s Ministry of Health data, considered reliable by the UN.
from: fesnews
