Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
Intensive negotiations are under way to reach a Gaza ceasefire agreement with Israel before US President Donald Trump’s visit to the Middle East in May, Hamas officials confirmed.
A delegation of senior Hamas members, led by Khalil Al Hayya, Zaher Jabareen and Nazar Awdallah, arrived in Cairo late on Thursday night for talks with Egyptian mediators, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The head of Israel's Mossad spy agency, David Barnea, was expected in Qatar later on Friday to join officials from the agency who are already there, they added.
Sources told The National earlier that the two sides held “serious” talks in Cairo on the latest Gaza ceasefire proposals, but an agreement may prove elusive again.
Mr Trump is set to visit Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar from May 13-16. It will be the US leader’s first scheduled overseas trip of his second term, after a short visit to the Vatican for Pope Francis’s funeral this weekend.
“There are ongoing attempts, meetings and intensive contacts to reach an agreement as soon as possible,” said a Hamas official.
“There are several formulas on the table, so it’s too early to talk about a final version. A broad range of contacts is ongoing between Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and the United States to reach an agreement."
Another Hamas official said the latest proposals include a comprehensive ceasefire that would involve the release of all Israeli hostages held in Gaza, a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, and the entry of “sufficient aid” into the territory.
“With US guarantees, there are high hopes” that a deal can be reached soon, added the official.
According to sources close to the negotiations, the proposals, presented by Egyptian and Qatari mediators, provide for a truce lasting five to seven years, the release of the remaining 59 hostages held by Hamas in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian detainees in Israel, and an end to 18 months of conflict in the enclave.
The proposals also include an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza in return for Hamas agreeing to lay down its arms – but not surrender them.
The sources said that Hamas has agreed to lay down its arms during the truce years, but it was unclear if that proposal meets Israel’s declared goal of disarming the group and fully ending its governance and military abilities.
“We in Hamas have no problem,” said a third official when asked about laying down arms and giving up the governance of Gaza. “We have no objection to agreeing on specific terms, including a truce with external guarantees."
Israel was also opposed to the release of several prominent Palestinians serving life sentences in its jails after their conviction in security-related cases. Hamas and Israeli negotiators are also at odds over the mechanisms for implementing an agreement, including the date on which it would go into effect.
US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators brokered a ceasefire in January. It expired on March 1, but the enclave remained relatively quiet until March 18, when Israel resumed air strikes and ground operations.
Israel halted all aid deliveries to Gaza as of March 2, worsening a humanitarian crisis for Gaza’s 2.3 million residents.
Israel's war in Gaza has to date left at least 51,355 Palestinians dead and more than twice that number wounded, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry, and laid to waste most of the territory’s built-up areas.
It was in response to an October 7 attack by Hamas-led fighters that killed 1,200 people in southern Israel.
Demonstrations by residents weary of the conflict have intensified around the Gaza Strip recently, in a rare display of public dissent against Hamas, which has ruled the territory with an iron fist for nearly two decades.
“From our side, we are ready to understand and agree on any issue that ends the aggression and preserves the rights of our Palestinian people,” claimed one of the Hamas officials.
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Our Time Has Come
Alyssa Ayres, Oxford University Press
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The biog
Name: Abeer Al Bah
Born: 1972
Husband: Emirati lawyer Salem Bin Sahoo, since 1992
Children: Soud, born 1993, lawyer; Obaid, born 1994, deceased; four other boys and one girl, three months old
Education: BA in Elementary Education, worked for five years in a Dubai school
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Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Josh Brolin
4/5 stars
Sheer grandeur
The Owo building is 14 storeys high, seven of which are below ground, with the 30,000 square feet of amenities located subterranean, including a 16-seat private cinema, seven lounges, a gym, games room, treatment suites and bicycle storage.
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Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
AWARDS
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The biog
Siblings: five brothers and one sister
Education: Bachelors in Political Science at the University of Minnesota
Interests: Swimming, tennis and the gym
Favourite place: UAE
Favourite packet food on the trip: pasta primavera
What he did to pass the time during the trip: listen to audio books
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
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Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
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Engine: 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16
Transmission: 7-speed DSG auto
Power: 1,600hp
Torque: 1,600Nm
0-100kph in 2.4seconds
0-200kph in 5.8 seconds
0-300kph in 12.1 seconds
Top speed: 440kph
Price: Dh13,200,000
Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport - the specs:
Engine: 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16
Transmission: 7-speed DSG auto
Power: 1,500hp
Torque: 1,600Nm
0-100kph in 2.3 seconds
0-200kph in 5.5 seconds
0-300kph in 11.8 seconds
Top speed: 350kph
Price: Dh13,600,000
The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
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