Israel Sends Team for Gaza Talks, Rejects Hamas Amendments

Agencies 

Jerusalem/Gaza City/Tulkarem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has confirmed that a delegation will travel to Qatar on Sunday to resume negotiations on a Gaza ceasefire and potential hostage release, as war in the Palestinian territory continues to claim lives and devastate communities. 

The move comes after Hamas said it was ready to engage “immediately and seriously” in US-sponsored talks.

However, Netanyahu has rejected the latest amendments proposed by Hamas to the Qatari-mediated draft deal, stating they are “unacceptable” to Israel.

Despite this, his office confirmed Israel’s acceptance of proximity talks and commitment to continue discussions based on the existing Qatari proposal.

The renewed push for a ceasefire follows nearly 21 months of war, ignited by Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel. 

In retaliation, Israeli operations have killed over 57,000 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry — figures that the United Nations considers credible. 

On Saturday alone, 42 people were reportedly killed in Gaza during Israeli strikes, as confirmed by Gaza’s civil defence agency.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has intensified diplomatic efforts, vowing to be “tough” on Netanyahu ahead of their scheduled meeting in Washington on Monday. 

Trump hopes to leverage the recent truce between Iran and Israel to bring an end to the war in Gaza. Speaking aboard Air Force One, he said, “We have to get it over with. We have to do something about Gaza.”

According to sources close to the negotiations, the truce proposal under discussion includes a 60-day ceasefire during which Hamas would release 10 living Israeli hostages and return several bodies in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. Hamas, however, is demanding security guarantees, a phased Israeli withdrawal, and the reinstatement of the UN-led aid distribution system.

The humanitarian crisis in Gaza continues to worsen. “People are dying for flour,” said Karima al-Ras from Khan Yunis, as aid remains insufficient. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a US- and Israel-backed aid group, has taken the lead in food distribution, but is controversial. UN agencies and major humanitarian organizations have distanced themselves, citing concerns that the group serves Israeli military objectives. 

On Saturday, two GHF workers were injured in what the group described as a “targeted terrorist attack” in Khan Yunis.

As pressure mounts internationally to halt the violence in Gaza, another front in the conflict is also intensifying — the West Bank.

In the refugee camps of Tulkarem, the Israeli army’s bulldozers have demolished large swaths of residential buildings under an ongoing military operation launched in January. Framed as a crackdown on Palestinian militant strongholds, the operation has already displaced over 40,000 people, according to UN figures.

Residents fear the destruction not only erases homes but threatens the very identity of Palestinian refugee communities. “The aim is clearly to erase the national symbolism of the refugee camp, to eliminate the refugee issue and the right of return,” said Suleiman al-Zuheiri, a resident and advocate in the Nur Shams camp.

At least 104 more buildings are slated for demolition in Tulkarem. “We came back to the camp and found our house demolished. No one informed us, no one told us anything,” said Abd al-Rahman Ajaj, 62, echoing the trauma of generations displaced since 1948.

On Thursday, Israel’s Supreme Court temporarily froze the demolitions, demanding a state response within two months to a petition filed by the Palestinian legal group Adalah. But much of the physical destruction has already occurred. Explosions, gunfire, and rubble now define the camps’ streets.

As diplomatic efforts to secure a truce in Gaza advance, the humanitarian and symbolic cost of the war continues to deepen on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian divide — raising difficult questions about the future of peace, justice, and regional stability.