Israeli and Hamas negotiators will meet for talks on Donald Trump’s peace plan on Monday as hopes for a ceasefire teeter on a knife-edge in the wake of continued fighting in Gaza, which left at least 12 dead over the weekend. The US President had ordered Israel to end the assault on the Palestinian territory while at the same time setting a deadline for Hamas to agree to his peace deal or face “all hell”.
On Saturday, Trump claimed he was bringing an end to a “3,000-year catastrophe”, in a post on his TruthSocial platform about the conflict which has raged since October 7, 2023, adding: “Israel has agreed to the initial withdrawal line, which we have shown to, and shared with, Hamas. When Hamas confirms, the Ceasefire will be IMMEDIATELY effective.” After an initial partially positive response from Hamas, the US Commander-in-Chief called on Israel to “immediately stop the bombing of Gaza, so that we can get the Hostages out safely and quickly!”.
It’s thought 20 hostages of the remaining 48 seized by Hamas during the October 7 atrocity are still alive somewhere in the Palestinian territory. However, last night the Israeli government said while “certain bombings” had stopped, there was still “no ceasefire in place”. At least eight people were killed on Sunday in multiple strikes in Gaza City, according to the local Shifa hospital, and four more were killed in a shooting near an aid distribution site in the southern city of Rafah.
The Israel Defence Force (IDF) said it was not involved in the shooting and did not immediately comment on the strikes.
And despite the optimistic tone from the White House, Hamas said in a statement it had only accepted some elements of the US peace plan, which calls for the release of all the Israeli hostages seized during the October 7 terror attack in return for an end of Israel’s military operation in Gaza.
The plan also sets out the establishment of an authority to oversee the running of Gaza, led by Donald Trump with the support of other world leaders, including former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair. Hamas has been told they cannot form part of any future government in Gaza, although those who accept the deal have been told they could be given an amnesty.
In a statement Hamas said it agreed “to release all Israeli prisoners, both living and dead, according to the exchange formula contained in President Trump’s proposal”, however the terror group said it wanted further negotiations on the future running of Gaza and the rights of Palestinians.
Egypt will host delegations from Israel and Hamas on Monday to discuss the proposed exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, the country’s foreign ministry said. US envoy Steve Witkoff is also joining the talks, according to an Egyptian official. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the current situation is “the closest we’ve come to getting all of the hostages released” and the foreign ministers of eight Muslim-majority countries issued a joint statement Sunday welcoming steps toward a possible ceasefire.
Israeli government spokeswoman Shosh Badrosian told journalists Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in “regular contact” with Trump and that the prime minister has stressed that the talks in Egypt “will be confined to a few days maximum, with no tolerance for maneuvers that will delay talks by Hamas”.
Despite the peace negotiations, pro-Palestine protesters continued to stretch police resources in Britain, Europe, North America, and Australia with large-scale demonstrations. The Metropolitan Police said 488 arrests were made for supporting the proscribed organisation Palestine Action, including six people who were detained for unfurling a banner backing the proscribed group on Westminster Bridge.
In Spain, 70,000 Gaza protesters marched in Barcelona. Scenes turned ugly after mobs vandalised shops which they claimed supported Israel. Eight arrests were made and 20 police officers were injured.
In Israel, tens of thousands of people gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday night in support of the peace plan and to bring the hostages home.
Eco-activist Geta Thunberg remains in custody in Israel after the campaigner was stopped by the Israeli military along with around 450 protesters on board a flotilla of 40 boats heading for Gaza on Friday. According to The Guardian, the Swedish activist, 22, has complained of rashes caused by “bedbugs” and “insufficient food and water”.
The Global Sumud flotilla was attempting to break an Israeli sea blockade around the Palestinian territory and deliver a consignment of aid. Israel said it would deport the activists who it said were “safe and in good health”, a spokesperson added the aid, “as little as it was”, would be transferred to Gaza.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said the Palestinian death toll in the war reached 67,139 on Sunday, with nearly 170,000 injured. The Health Ministry does not differentiate how many of those killed were civilians or combatants, but says women and children make up about half of the dead.
Hamas’s terror attack on October 7, 2023, which sparked the latest conflict, killed more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and led to the kidnapping of 250 Israelis and other nationalities. The IDF said that since the beginning of ground operations in the Gaza Strip on October 27, 2023, 466 soldiers had died during the war.