US, Israel, Egypt and Qatar agreed on ‘basic contours’ of hostage deal – US national security adviser
The US, Egypt, Qatar and Israel have come to an understanding of âbasic contoursâ of a hostage deal for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza, the US national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, told CNN on Sunday.
The deal is still under negotiation, said Sullivan, who added there will have to be indirect discussions by Qatar and Egypt with Hamas.
Benjamin Netanyahu convened his war cabinet for a briefing on Saturday evening by intelligence chiefs who returned from a meeting with Qatari, Egyptian and US mediators in Paris about a possible second Gaza ceasefire.
Egyptian security sources said there would be more talks this week in Doha, with mediators travelling between Hamas and Israeli delegates, and a follow-up round in Cairo.
The first pause in fighting, in November, saw the release of around half of the 253 people Hamas seized during the 7 October attacks, in which 1,200 people were killed. In that deal, Israel freed three times the number of Palestinians from its security prisons and admitted more humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Israeli media, citing unnamed officials, reported there was a framework for the return of around a third of the 130 remaining hostages over a six-week truce covering the Muslim holy month of Ramadan (in March/April). There was no formal confirmation from either side.
Key events
Biden not yet briefed on Israel’s Rafah operation – US national security adviser
US President Joe Biden has not been briefed on Israelâs plan for military operations in Rafah, but believes civilian life must be protected, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told NBCâs Meet the Press programme.
âWe do not believe that an operation, a major military operation, should proceed in Rafah unless there is a clear and executable plan to protect those civilians, to get them to safety and to feed, clothe and house them,â Sullivan said.
Israel has threatened to launch a full-blown attack on Rafah, the last city at Gazaâs southern edge, despite international pleas – including from its main ally Washington – for restraint.
Residents who have fled to Rafah from elsewhere say there is nowhere left to go.
US, Israel, Egypt and Qatar agreed on ‘basic contours’ of hostage deal – US national security adviser
The US, Egypt, Qatar and Israel have come to an understanding of âbasic contoursâ of a hostage deal for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza, the US national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, told CNN on Sunday.
The deal is still under negotiation, said Sullivan, who added there will have to be indirect discussions by Qatar and Egypt with Hamas.
Benjamin Netanyahu convened his war cabinet for a briefing on Saturday evening by intelligence chiefs who returned from a meeting with Qatari, Egyptian and US mediators in Paris about a possible second Gaza ceasefire.
Egyptian security sources said there would be more talks this week in Doha, with mediators travelling between Hamas and Israeli delegates, and a follow-up round in Cairo.
The first pause in fighting, in November, saw the release of around half of the 253 people Hamas seized during the 7 October attacks, in which 1,200 people were killed. In that deal, Israel freed three times the number of Palestinians from its security prisons and admitted more humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Israeli media, citing unnamed officials, reported there was a framework for the return of around a third of the 130 remaining hostages over a six-week truce covering the Muslim holy month of Ramadan (in March/April). There was no formal confirmation from either side.
Israelâs prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said it was not clear yet whether a hostage deal would materialise from ongoing talks, declining to discuss specifics but said Hamas needed to âcome down to a reasonable situationâ.
Netanyahu, speaking in an interview with CBS News, said he was meeting with staff later on Sunday to review a dual military plan that was said to include the evacuation of Palestinian civilians in Gaza and an operation to destroy remaining Hamas battalions.
âIf we have a deal, it will be delayed somewhat, but it will happen. If we donât have a deal, weâll do it anyway,â he told CBS.
The comments come amid reports that Qatar will host mediated talks between Hamas and Israel that will aim to finalise an agreement on a truce this week.
The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNWRA) has said the humanitarian situation in Gaza is âcatastrophicâ, with people cramped in âseverely overcrowdedâ shelters where diseases are spreading and clean water is scarce.
Sanitary conditions are unsustainable in the #GazaStripð@UNRWA shelters are severely overcrowded. Clean water is scarce. Solid waste is accumulating. Spread of diseases is on the rise.
The situation is catastrophic, but UNRWA teams continue working to provide critical aid. pic.twitter.com/oBaIEN16XH
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) February 25, 2024
We reported earlier how the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said it has been forced to âstretch every dollarâ and juggle its finances in order to continue vital work in Gaza after 18 donor countries suspended funding over allegations of links to Hamas (see post at 10.49 for more details).
In the UK, the Scottish National party (SNP) will push for another vote on a Gaza ceasefire this week.
The speaker of the House of Commons, Lindsay Hoyle, faced calls to quit after his decision to break with precedent and allow Labour to table a vote during an SNP debate calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, which prompted a walkout by Conservative and Scottish Nationalist MPs.
Announcing the move, the SNPâs Westminster leader, Stephen Flynn, said he wanted to ârefocus the discussion away from the Westminster circus and on to what really matters â doing everything we can to secure an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Israelâ.
After criticism that that original motion amounted to posturing, with the voting preference of UK MPs unlikely to make a substantive difference to ending the conflict, Flynn said he would be pressing the UK parliament to âback concrete actions to actually achieve an immediate ceasefireâ.
You can read the full story by the Guardianâs Scotland correspondent, Libby Brooks, here:
Here are some of the latest images coming out of the Gaza Strip from the newswires:
Here is the full statement from Iran condemning the latest strikes by the US and the UK on Yemen.
Iranâs foreign ministry spokesperson, Nasser Kanani, said in a statement:
With such attacks, America and Britain seek to escalate tensions and crises in the region, and expand the scope of war and instability.
Certainly, this kind of arbitrary and aggressive military operation, aside from aggravating insecurity and instability in the region, will not achieve anything for these aggressor countries.
He further condemned the US and the UK for failing to âtake immediate and effective actionâ to stop Israelâs war in Gaza.
The US and UK carried out strikes against 18 Houthi targets including underground weapons and missile storage facilities in Yemen on Saturday.
The strikes were against Houthi targets across eight locations and also included air defence systems, radars, and a helicopter, officials said.
The Iran-backed Houthis who control much of north-western Yemen have been attacking merchant vessels in the region since November.
Egyptian state-linked media report that ceasefire negotiations have restarted today in Qatar.
The claims, reported via AFP, state that âexperts from Egypt, Qatar, the United States and Israelâ, as well as Hamas representatives, are present in Doha.
Negotiations will centre around a possible pause in fighting to allow for the release of Israeli hostages abducted by Hamas on 7 October, in exchange for the freeing of Palestinian prisoners currently held by Israel.
Reports of the talks are unconfirmed but we will have more details in the live blog as they emerge.
Iran says US and UK strikes on Yemen ‘escalate tensions’
Iranâs foreign ministry spokesperson, Nasser Kanani, condemned the latest round of US and UK strikes against 18 Houthi targets. AFP have reported him saying the US and UK âseek to escalate tensions and crises in the region, and expand the scope of war and instability.â
Summary of the day so far…
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The UN agency for Palestinian refugees has been forced to âstretch every dollarâ and juggle its finances in order to continue vital work in Gaza after 18 donor countries suspended funding over allegations of links to Hamas. The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is facing a shortfall of $450m from a budget of $880m. It reports that it has been forced to pause aid deliveries to northern Gaza.
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At least 29,692 Palestinians have been killed and 69,879 injured in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement.
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Israel is developing plans for expanding its offensive to Rafah, on the Gaza-Egypt border, where more than half the territoryâs population of 2.3 million have sought refuge in desperate conditions. Aid groups have warned of a catastrophe if this happens. Palestinians seeking refuge from Israeli bombardment have described widespread starvation amid increasing reports of famine in Gaza.
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Qatar will host mediated talks between Hamas and Israel that will aim to finalise an agreement on a truce this week, Egyptian security sources told Reuters. Representatives from both parties will later travel to Cairo for further talks aimed at reaching an agreement on the timing and mechanism for executing any deal, including hostage releases, the sources said.
Qatar to host mediated Hamas-Israel truce talks this week – sources
Qatar will host mediated talks between Hamas and Israel that will aim to finalise an agreement on a truce this week, Egyptian security sources told Reuters.
Representatives from both parties will later travel to Cairo for further talks aimed at reaching an agreement on the timing and mechanism for executing any deal, including hostage releases, the sources said.
It comes after secretive talks at an unknown location in Paris were held that involved David Barnea, the head of Israelâs Mossad intelligence service, conducting separate meetings with Egyptian spy chief Abbas Kamel, head of the CIA William Burns and Qatari prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani.
Ceasefire negotiations had stalled prior to the latest meeting in Paris after Hamas demanded a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the enclave, and a prisoner swap.
Israelâs president, Benjamin Netanyahu, derided these demands as âdelusionalâ and said Israeli forces would push ahead with a ground invasion of Rafah without an agreement on freeing the remaining Israeli hostages.
