Palestinians children, displaced from their homes, are pictured in the school where they took refuge in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on December 28, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. Gaza health officials said on December 28, that Israeli forces detained the director of a hospital in the north, which the World Health Organization said was put out of service by an Israeli raid. On December 27, the Israeli military said it had launched an operation in the area of Kamal Adwan Hospital, alleging the facility was a "key stronghold for terrorist organisations". - AFP
ISTANBUL (Bernama-AA): Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman discussed on Saturday developments in the Gaza Strip’s ceasefire negotiations and ways to advance them with a delegation from Hamas, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported.
The Foreign Ministry said that bin Abdulrahman "received today in Doha a Hamas delegation for the Gaza ceasefire negotiations, led by Khalil Al-Hayya," who is the deputy chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau.
It added that "the meeting reviewed the latest developments in the Gaza ceasefire negotiations and explored ways to push them forward to ensure a clear and comprehensive agreement that ends the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.”
The Palestinian resistance group said on Wednesday that a ceasefire and prisoner swap has been delayed due to new Israeli conditions.
"The (Israeli) occupation set new issues and conditions related to withdrawal, ceasefire, prisoners, and the return of the displaced, which delayed reaching an agreement that was available,” it said in a statement.
Observers, however, view Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's announcement as part of a pattern of delays in negotiations.
Since the lone ceasefire in late November 2023, the Israeli premier has hinted at progress in talks for a prisoner swap and a potential cease-fire, only to later insist on continuing military operations in Gaza.
Israel is believed to be holding more than 10,300 Palestinian prisoners, while approximately 100 Israeli captives are in Gaza. Hamas has said that dozens of the captives were killed in indiscriminate Israeli airstrikes.
Israel has continued a genocidal war on Gaza that has killed nearly 45,500 victims, most of them women and children.
Last month, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel is also facing a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza. - Bernama-AA
