Talks mediated by Egypt and Qatar on a Gaza ceasefire and hostage and prisoner releases are moving ahead and officials from Israel's Mossad spy agency remain in Doha for discussions, a source briefed on the talks told Reuters on Tuesday.
A woman walks past posters with pictures of hostages kidnapped in the deadly October 7 attack on Israel by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas from Gaza, in Tel Aviv, March 25, 2024. Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
Talks mediated by Egypt and Qatar on a Gaza ceasefire and hostage and prisoner releases are moving ahead and officials from Israel's Mossad spy agency remain in Doha for discussions, a source briefed on the talks told Reuters on Tuesday.
A small Mossad team was returning to Israel from Doha for consultations on developments in the talks, the source added.
Israel accused Hamas on Tuesday of posing "delusional" demands in indirect negotiations on a truce, saying in a statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office that these showed the Palestinian militants were not interested in a deal.
In the talks, Hamas has sought to parlay any ceasefire into an end to the war and withdrawal of Israeli forces. Israel rules this out, saying it would pursue efforts to dismantle Hamas, which is sworn to its destruction.
Reporting by Andrew Mills
Countries are still working on a U.N. Security Council mandate for an international stabilisation force in Gaza, and will decide on any troop deployments once a framework is complete, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Monday.
Avishay Edri wants to move back to the kibbutz he evacuated in southern Israel after it was attacked by Palestinian gunmen two years ago, but is hesitating as fears persist that the war in nearby Gaza will resume and it will not be safe.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Sunday that Hezbollah was seeking to rearm and that Israel would exercise its right to self-defence under last year's ceasefire accord if Lebanon failed to disarm the militant group.
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