Gaza ceasefire talks being held in Cairo have moved up a gear, with US President Donald Trump saying an agreement could be reached within a week and mediator Qatar speaking of a window of opportunity that should be seized.
Speaking from the Oval Office during the signing on Friday of a peace accord between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, Mr Trump said he had spoken earlier with people involved in brokering the previous truce in the 20-month Israel-Gaza war.
“We think within the next week, we're going to get a ceasefire,” he said without elaborating.
In Qatar, which has been mediating in the conflict together with the US and Egypt, Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari said negotiators are engaging with Israel and Hamas to build on momentum from this week’s Israel-Iran ceasefire and work towards a Gaza truce and the release of hostages held by Hamas-led groups.
“If we don’t utilise this window of opportunity and this momentum, it’s an opportunity lost among many in the near past. We don’t want to see that again,” he told AFP in an interview.
"We have seen US pressure and what it can accomplish," he said, referring to a truce agreed in January.
The US, Qatar and Egypt have been trying to broker a new ceasefire after that truce collapsed on March 18 when Israel resumed military operations, two weeks after it ordered a halt to relief aid entering the coastal strip where hundreds of thousands are facing hunger and shortages of basic items.
Mr Trump did not explain why he was optimistic about reaching a truce soon. The US has said several times previously that a deal was within reach, only for the talks to reach a deadlock as both Israel and Hamas stuck to their conditions.
Sources familiar with the peace effort in Cairo told The National that the talks have gathered pace in recent days, with US envoy Bishara Bahbah, a Palestinian-American, engaging in intense conversations with the Egyptian mediators and senior Hamas officials who have been in Cairo since Monday.
Mr Trump's Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected in the region early next week, when he will visit Egypt, Israel and Qatar, according to the sources.
A mid-level Israeli official was in Cairo earlier this week and senior negotiators from the Mossad spy agency and military were expected soon, the sources said. There has been no confirmation of this yet from the Israeli government.
The sources told The National earlier this week that the proposals on the table to pause the war and secure the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza were not significantly different from those discussed in previous rounds.
The current discussions are centred on modifying those proposals to provide for a "comprehensive accord" to be negotiated during a proposed 60-day truce, which includes a long-term ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, they said on Saturday.
However, Israel remained reluctant to agree to anything beyond a temporary truce and the release of all the hostages, they said.
Additionally, Israel continues to demand a security presence in Gaza as well as the complete dismantling of Hamas's military and governing capacities.
Hamas has shown some flexibility over the timeline for the initial release of 10 living hostages and the remains of half of those who died while in captivity, as provided for in the proposals, said the sources.
Hamas still holds about 50 hostages, of whom 20 are believed to be alive, according to Israel's military.
Hamas had previously said it wanted to stagger the release of the 10 living hostages over the 60-day truce to ensure Israel's compliance with the deal. Israel rejected this, insisting all 10 must be freed the day the truce goes into effect.
Hamas also wants Israel to remove its troops from designated land corridors for the delivery and distribution of aid to Gazans, the sources said.
It also insists that a proposed commission of independent Palestinian technocrats start running the war-battered enclave the day the truce goes into force.
The sources said proposals for Hamas to lay down its arms and keep them in storage, as well as the departure from Gaza of senior Hamas officials to live in exile, are still on the negotiating table.
The group is open to both conditions, but categorically refusing to disarm, and will agree to the exile of some of its leaders only if Israel guarantees not to target them.
The Gaza war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israeli communities, killing about 1,200 people and taking another 250 hostage. Israel responded with a devastating military campaign that has killed more that 56,000 Palestinians and wounded more than twice that number, according to authorities in Gaza.
The fighting has also displaced most of the territory's 2.3 million residents and reduced much of its built-up area to rubble.
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
The UAE's journey to space
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Mobile phone packages comparison
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
'The Ice Road'
Director: Jonathan Hensleigh
Stars: Liam Neeson, Amber Midthunder, Laurence Fishburne
2/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Rain Management
Year started: 2017
Based: Bahrain
Employees: 100-120
Amount raised: $2.5m from BitMex Ventures and Blockwater. Another $6m raised from MEVP, Coinbase, Vision Ventures, CMT, Jimco and DIFC Fintech Fund
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Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20myZoi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202021%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Syed%20Ali%2C%20Christian%20Buchholz%2C%20Shanawaz%20Rouf%2C%20Arsalan%20Siddiqui%2C%20Nabid%20Hassan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2037%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Initial%20undisclosed%20funding%20from%20SC%20Ventures%3B%20second%20round%20of%20funding%20totalling%20%2414%20million%20from%20a%20consortium%20of%20SBI%2C%20a%20Japanese%20VC%20firm%2C%20and%20SC%20Venture%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Read more about the coronavirus
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Youth YouTuber Programme
The programme will be presented over two weeks and will cover the following topics:
- Learning, scripting, storytelling and basic shots
- Master on-camera presence and advanced script writing
- Beating the algorithm and reaching your core audience
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
THE DETAILS
Kaala
Dir: Pa. Ranjith
Starring: Rajinikanth, Huma Qureshi, Easwari Rao, Nana Patekar
Rating: 1.5/5
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The years Ramadan fell in May
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