Israel and Hamas are set for more indirect talks today on the Gaza ceasefire, but deep divisions persist between the two sides on the terms of the fragile truce, according to AFP.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed Israeli negotiators to continue the talks, his office said, but he directed the team to base its negotiations on a proposal by US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff that calls for the “immediate release of 11 living hostages and half of the deceased hostages”.
That came after Hamas said it was ready to release a living Israeli-US hostage, Edan Alexander, along with the bodies of four other Israeli-Americans in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
A Hamas delegation said the proposal to hand over the five had also been put forward by the United States. But the US, the key military ally of Israel, has since criticised Hamas’ insistence on that proposal.
“The delegation asked mediators and guarantors, the United States, to compel the occupation (Israel) to implement the humanitarian protocol, immediately allow humanitarian aid into Gaza Strip, and begin the second phase of negotiations,” a Hamas official said on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak publicly on the Gaza truce.
