Camille Naredo

Israeli army Merkava main battle tanks move at a position in southern Israel along the border fence with the northern Gaza Strip on March 18, 2025. Menahem Kahana, AFP/File

Israeli army Merkava main battle tanks move at a position in southern Israel along the border fence with the northern Gaza Strip on March 18, 2025. Israel on March 18 unleashed its most intense strikes on the Gaza Strip since a January ceasefire, with rescuers reporting 220 people killed, and Hamas accusing Benjamin Netanyahu of deciding to "resume war" after a deadlock on extending the truce. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)

Article (news)

GAZA

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1752313756524AFP__20250318__372W8DC__v2__Preview__TopshotIsraelPalestinianGazaConflict.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Israeli army Merkava main battle tanks move at a position in southern Israel along the border fence with the northern Gaza Strip on March 18, 2025. Menahem Kahana, AFP/File"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Israeli army Merkava main battle tanks move at a position in southern Israel along the border fence with the northern Gaza Strip on March 18, 2025. <em>Menahem Kahana, AFP/File</em></span></span></span></div><p>GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories -- Indirect talks between Hamas and Israel for a ceasefire in Gaza are being held up by Israel&#x27;s proposals to keep troops in the territory, two Palestinian sources with knowledge of the discussions told AFP on Saturday.</p><p>Delegations from both sides began discussions in Qatar last Sunday to try to agree on a temporary halt to the 21-month conflict sparked by Hamas&#x27;s deadly attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.</p><p>Both Hamas and Israel have said that 10 living hostages who were taken that day and are still in captivity would be released if an agreement for a 60-day ceasefire were reached.</p><p>Israel&#x27;s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that he hoped to clinch a deal &quot;in a few days&quot;, which could then lead to talks for a more permanent end to hostilities.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/7/9/israel-pm-eyes-hamas-truce-deal-despite-hurdles-in-talks-0134">READ: Israel PM eyes Hamas truce deal despite hurdles in talks</a></div><p>But one Palestinian source, speaking anonymously due to the sensitivity of the talks, said Israel&#x27;s refusal to accept Hamas&#x27;s demand to withdraw all of its troops from Gaza was holding back progress.</p><p>Another said mediators had asked both sides to postpone the talks until the arrival of US President Donald Trump&#x27;s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, in Doha.</p><p>&quot;The negotiations in Doha are facing a setback and complex difficulties due to Israel&#x27;s insistence, as of Friday, on presenting a map of withdrawal, which is actually a map of redeployment and repositioning of the Israeli army rather than a genuine withdrawal,&quot; one Palestinian source said.</p><p>The source said Israel was proposing to maintain military forces in more than 40 percent of the Palestinian territory, forcing hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians into a small area near the city of Rafah, on the border with Egypt, they added.</p><p>&quot;Hamas&#x27;s delegation will not accept the Israeli maps... as they essentially legitimize the reoccupation of approximately half of the Gaza Strip and turn Gaza into isolated zones with no crossings or freedom of movement,&quot; the source said.</p><p>A second Palestinian source accused the Israeli delegation of having no authority, and &quot;stalling and obstructing the agreement in order to continue the war of extermination&quot;.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/7/8/israel-hamas-ceasefire-negotiations-resume-as-trump-pushes-for-deal-1928">READ: Israel-Hamas ceasefire negotiations resume as Trump pushes for deal</a></div><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/7/8/trump-hosts-netanyahu-in-push-for-gaza-deal-1118">READ: Trump hosts Netanyahu in push for Gaza deal</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>- Latest strikes -</strong></div><div><script data-wid="auto" type="text/javascript" src="https://content.viralize.tv/display/?zid=AAFz8gWM8iRADsJr&amp;cid=ABcKSB_i6I82jpxs"></script></div><p>The Gaza war began after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, resulting in the deaths of at least 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.</p><p>Of the 251 hostages seized, 49 are still being held, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.</p><p>At least 57,823 Palestinians, also mostly civilians, have been killed since the start of the war, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.</p><p>Gaza&#x27;s civil defence agency said at least 14 Palestinians were killed in the latest wave of Israeli strikes across the territory on Saturday.</p><p>More than 30 people were killed on Friday, including 10 people who were waiting for aid handouts, the agency said.</p><p>The Israeli military on Saturday said it had attacked &quot;approximately 250 terrorist targets throughout the Gaza Strip&quot; in the last 48 hours.</p><p>Targets included &quot;terrorists, booby-trapped structures, weapons storage facilities, anti-tank missile launch posts, sniper posts, tunnels and additional terrorist infrastructure sites&quot;, it added.</p><p>Two previous ceasefires -- a week-long truce beginning in late November 2023 and a two-month one from mid-January this year -- led to the release of 105 hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.</p><p>The second Palestinian source said &quot;some progress&quot; had been made in the latest talks on plans for releasing Palestinian prisoners held by Israel and getting more aid to Gaza.</p><p>Netanyahu, who is under domestic and international pressure to end the war, said this week that neutralising Hamas as a security threat was a prerequisite for any long-term ceasefire talks.</p><p>That included the group giving up weapons, he said, warning that failure to do so would mean Israel would have to do so by force.</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div>

<p>Both Hamas and Israel have said that 10 living hostages who were taken that day and are still in captivity would be released if an agreement for a 60-day ceasefire were reached.</p>

Both Hamas and Israel have said that 10 living hostages who were taken that day and are still in captivity would be released if an agreement for a 60-day ceasefire were reached.

Gaza ceasefire talks held up by Israel withdrawal plans: Palestinian sources

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Gaza ceasefire talks held up by Israel withdrawal plans: Palestinian sources

Agence France-Presse

Published Jul 12, 2025 06:01 PM PHT

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