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Palestinians perform the first Friday prayers of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan near the ruins of a mosque destroyed by Israeli airstrikes in Rafah, Gaza Strip.
CAIRO >> Stalled negotiations aimed at securing a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas are expected to resume in earnest in Qatar on Sunday, according to Egyptian officials.
The talks would mark the first time Israeli officials and Hamas leaders have joined indirect negotiations since the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
International mediators had hoped to secure a six-week truce before the start of Ramadan this week, but Hamas rejected any deal that would not lead to a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, a call rejected by Israel.
But both sides have taken steps in recent days to get negotiations back on track, which have never stopped.
Hamas presented mediators with a new proposal for a three-step plan that would end the fighting, according to two Egyptian officials, one involved in the talks and the other briefed on it. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were authorized to disclose information. the content of the delicate discussions.
The first step would be a six-week ceasefire that would see the release of 35 hostages (women, people with health problems and the elderly) held by militants in Gaza in exchange for 350 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Hamas would also release at least five infantrymen in exchange for 50 prisoners, some of whom are serving long sentences for terrorism, for each soldier. Israeli forces would withdraw from two main Gaza roads, allow displaced Palestinians to return to northern Gaza, which has been devastated by fighting, and allow aid to reach the area, officials said.
Nearly one in three children under the age of two in the remote north is acutely malnourished, the U. N. youth firm said on Friday.
In the second phase, the two sides would demand a permanent ceasefire and Hamas would take the remaining Israeli infantrymen hostage in exchange for more prisoners, the officials said.
In the third phase, Hamas would hand over the bodies it holds in exchange for Israel lifting the blockade of Gaza and allowing reconstruction to begin, the officials said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the proposal “unrealistic. “However, he agreed to send Israeli negotiators to Qatar to continue negotiations.
Those talks are expected to resume on Sunday afternoon, though they may be delayed until Monday, Egyptian officials said.
Netanyahu’s government has rejected calls for a permanent ceasefire, insisting that it will first have to do so in order to achieve its stated purpose of “annihilating Hamas. “
Netanyahu also said on Friday that he had approved army plans to attack Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city where around 1. 4 million displaced Palestinians (more than a fraction of the enclave’s population) have taken refuge. Israel needs to attack the Hamas battalions stationed there.
Many Palestinians fled to Rafah when Israel attacked Gaza following the Hamas attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, which killed another 1,200 people and left 250 hostage.
The United States and other countries have warned that a military operation in Rafah could simply be disastrous, with U. S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken saying Friday that the U. S. has yet to see “a transparent and achievable plan” for the innocent.
Netanyahu did not give any main points or a timeline for the Rafah operation, but said it would involve the evacuation of the civilian population. The army said it planned to direct civilians to “humanitarian islands” in central Gaza.
“Many other people are too fragile, hungry and physically ill to be displaced again,” World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on social media, adding that there is no fully functional and healthy facility they can access in other parts of Gaza. “For the sake of humanity, we call on Israel not to prosecute. “
Gaza’s Public Health Ministry said at least 31,553 Palestinians have been killed in the war. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count, but says women and young people account for two-thirds of the dead.
An Israeli strike on Monday leveled a space in the urban refugee camp of Nuseirat, in central Gaza, killing at least 19 people, as well as nine children, according to records from the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospital. An Associated Press reporter saw the bodies.
The Israeli offensive has driven as many as 2. 3 million Gazans from their homes. According to the UN, a quarter of Gaza’s population is starving.
As part of efforts to deliver desperately needed aid, a shipment on Friday inaugurated a sea route from Cyprus and unloaded 200 tons of humanitarian materials sent through the aid organization World Central Kitchen to citizens in northern Gaza.
The organization said today that it is preparing another shipment to Cyprus with tons of aid.
Also today, Germany joined an organization of countries, the United States and Jordan, in airdrops of aid over Gaza. The U. S. has also announced separate plans to build a jetty to deliver aid.
Displaced Palestinians living in tents on the Mediterranean coast remained hungry and depressed.
“The scenario is so bad that no one can imagine it, and the ship, even if it helps, will be a drop in the ocean,” Zahr Saqr told Muwasi. “We run like dogs after airdrops. “
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Bassem Mroue in Beirut and Jack Jeffery in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
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