Doha [Qatar], July 7 (ANI): Israel and Hamas resumed a second day of indirect negotiations in Doha on Monday, as mediators push for a ceasefire and captive exchange deal in Gaza ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, DC, Al Jazeera reported.
The latest round of talks began Sunday, with Qatari and Egyptian intermediaries working to finalize terms for a truce and the release of Israeli captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. President Trump has expressed optimism, suggesting a deal could be reached this week.
Before departing for Washington on Sunday, Netanyahu said Israeli negotiators had been given clear instructions to secure a ceasefire under conditions acceptable to Israel. “We’ve gotten a lot of the hostages out, but pertaining to the remaining hostages, quite a few of them will be coming out,” he told reporters, adding that his meeting with Trump could “definitely help advance this” deal.
Of the 251 captives seized by Palestinian fighters during the October 2023 attack, 49 remain in Gaza, including 27 whom the Israeli military has declared dead.
Netanyahu previously rejected Hamas’s response to a U.S.-backed ceasefire draft proposal, calling the group’s demands “unacceptable.” That proposal outlined a 60-day truce, phased release of captives, Israeli troop withdrawals from parts of Gaza, and negotiations toward a permanent end to hostilities.
According to Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh, reporting from Jordan due to Israel’s ban on the network’s coverage in Israel and the occupied West Bank, the Netanyahu-Trump meeting is seen as “very important” for Israel’s broader regional strategy. “Netanyahu cannot seem to be going against Trump’s wishes,” she said, noting that the Israeli leader faces pressure both from Washington and from hardliners in his coalition.
“There are disagreements within the Israeli cabinet that it will find difficult to adopt, especially on the issues of redeployment and food aid distribution,” Odeh added.
Trump and Netanyahu are scheduled to meet at the White House at 6:30 p.m. local time (22:30 GMT) on Monday, though the White House has not confirmed whether the meeting will be open to the press.
The talks follow last month’s joint U.S.-Israeli air strikes on Iran and come after multiple failed efforts to broker a long-term truce. The main sticking point remains Hamas’s insistence on a permanent end to the war, while Israel maintains it will continue operations until Hamas is dismantled.
Some of Netanyahu’s hardline coalition partners oppose ending the fighting, but public sentiment in Israel has increasingly turned against the 21-month-long conflict, adding pressure on the government to reach an agreement.
Since Hamas’s October 2023 attack and the ensuing Israeli offensive, two temporary truces have been brokered, during which captives were exchanged for Palestinian prisoners.
The war has devastated Gaza, with more than 57,500 Palestinians killed, almost the entire population displaced, and massive destruction across the territory, according to Gaza’s health authorities. (ANI)
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