Hamas says it's sending a delegation to Qatar to continue Gaza ceasefire
talks
[April 15, 2025]
By WAFAA SHURAFA and SAMY MAGDY
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — A Hamas official said Monday that the
Palestinian militant group is sending a delegation to the Gulf state of
Qatar to continue indirect ceasefire talks with Israel over the war in
Gaza, as the territory’s Health Ministry said that 38 people were
confirmed dead over the past day.
The Hamas official said teams have been discussing terms for a new
ceasefire agreement over recent days in Cairo, including a proposal that
Hamas free eight to 10 hostages held in Gaza. But the Hamas official
said a major sticking point remained over whether the war would end as
part of any new deal.
The talks in Qatar are meant to take place later this week or next, the
official said.
The Hamas official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not
authorized to discuss the sensitive talks with the media. Officials from
Israel and Qatar had no immediate comment.
Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire in January that lasted eight
weeks before Israel resumed the war last month. The initial ceasefire
agreement was meant to bring the sides toward negotiating an end to the
war, something Israel has resisted doing because it wants to defeat
Hamas first.
Hundreds have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire collapsed
Since the ceasefire fell apart last month, Israel has blocked aid from
entering Gaza and forces have also seized swaths of the coastal enclave
in a bid to ratchet up pressure on Hamas to agree to a deal more aligned
with Israel's terms.
On Monday, the United Nations humanitarian office warned that the
humanitarian situation in Gaza is now likely to be “the worst” since
Israel launched its retaliation to Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, pointing
to the Israeli ban on all supplies entering the Gaza Strip since March
2.
U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters: “No fuel has come in,
no food has come in, no medicine has come in.”
The war started when Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people, mostly
civilians, during the attack on southern Israel and took 251 people
captive. Most have since been freed in ceasefire agreements and other
deals. Fifty-nine remain in Gaza, 24 of whom are believed to still be
alive.
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Volunteers and emergency workers try to move a concrete pillar as
they search for bodies and survivors from the rubble of the Manoun
family's house after it was targeted by an Israeli army strike in
Jabalia al-Balad, Gaza City, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad
Alshrafi)
Nearly 51,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory
offensive, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not
differentiate between combatants and civilians in its count but says
more than half of the dead have been women and children.
The Health Ministry said Monday that the bodies of 38 people killed
in Israeli strikes were brought to hospitals across the territory
over the past 24 hours. It said more than 1,600 people have been
killed since the ceasefire collapsed.
The Red Cross says Israel has detained a Palestinian medic
Also Monday, the International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed
that a Palestinian medic was detained during an Israeli military
operation in which troops killed 15 first responders in the Gaza
Strip. It was the first confirmation of the medic's whereabouts
since the March 23 attack in southern Gaza.
A statement from the Red Cross said it has not been granted access
to visit him and did not say how it had received confirmation of his
detention. The Israeli military had no immediate comment.
The Israeli military initially said troops had opened fire on
vehicles that raised suspicion because they were traveling without
lights on. It later backtracked after a cellphone video emerged
showing clearly marked ambulances traveling with their sirens
flashing before the shooting.
The military also said it killed nine militants traveling in the
ambulances, without providing evidence. It named one of the
militants, but the name did not match those of any of the
paramedics, and no other bodies are known to have been recovered.
The military says it is investigating further.
___
Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Edith M. Lederer
contributed to this report from the United Nations.
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