Report: Hamas official says no 'major' issues with current cease-fire poposal

Original source (on modern site) | Article images: [1] [2] [3]

Haaretz | Israel NewsApr 28, 2024Updated: 05:51 a.m. IST

2 of 5 |

Palestinian children inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, April 27, 2024.Credit: Hatem Khaled/ REUTERS

1 of 5 |

This handout picture released by the Israeli army on April 25 shows Israeli soldiers operating in the Gaza Strip.Credit: AFP PHOTO / Handout / Israeli army

5 of 5 |

Pro-Palestinian protesters camp out in tents at Columbia University on Saturday, April 27, 2024 in New York. With the death toll mounting in the war in Gaza, protesters nationwide are demanding that schools cut financial ties to Israel and divest from companies they say are enabling the conflict. Some Jewish students say the protests have veered into antisemitism and made them afraid to set foot on campus. (AP Photo)Credit: ,AP

Amid hostage talks, Netanyahu, Biden speak on phone, discuss Rafah incursion ■ IDF spokesperson: Amount of humanitarian aid entering Gaza will increase in coming days ■ Gaza aid flotilla halted after vessels flag removed, activists say ■ World Central Kitchen announces the resuming of Gaza operations ■ War cabinet minister Gantz says gov't would have no right to exist if it prevents a hostage deal

Amid hostage talks, Netanyahu, Biden speak on phone, discuss Rafah incursion ■ IDF spokesperson: Amount of humanitarian aid entering Gaza will increase in coming days ■ Gaza aid flotilla halted after vessels flag removed, activists say ■ World Central Kitchen announces the resuming of Gaza operations ■ War cabinet minister Gantz says gov't would have no right to exist if it prevents a hostage deal

Pro-Palestinian protesters at UCLA tussle with Israel supporters

Protests at U.S. universities showed no sign of slowing over the weekend, with more arrests on campuses across the country and skirmishes between pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian demonstrators at UCLA, where a tent encampment was set up last week.

As the size of the pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of California at Los Angeles expanded in recent days, counter-protesters have become increasingly vocal and visible on the campus, although both sides remained peaceful until Sunday.

That changed when some demonstrators broke through a barrier that the school had set up to separate the two factions, Mary Osako, UCLA's vice chancellor for UCLA strategic communications, said.

Members of both factions shoved one another and shouted slogans and insults, and in some cases traded punches. Pushing and shoving persisted for some time among pockets of demonstrators, but campus police armed with batons eventually separated the sparring groups.

"UCLA has a long history of being a place of peaceful protest, and we are heartbroken about the violence that broke out," Osako said in a statement.

Chanting had ceased by around 3:30 p.m. local time, and pro-Palestinian protesters trickled back to the encampment, according to the Reuters photographer at the scene.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to travel to Jordan, Israel

Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at the start of a briefing in Washington, on Monday.Credit: Susan Walsh/AP

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will expand his trip to the Middle East and continue onto Jordan and Israel after visiting Saudi Arabia, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Sunday.

In a statement, Miller said Blinken will focus on the effort to secure a ceasefire in Gaza that will see the release of hostages and ensure humanitarian aid into the enclave continues or increases.

AFP report: Hamas official says no 'major' issues with Gaza truce proposal

A senior Hamas official told AFP news that there are no 'major' issues with the proposal currently being discussed for a hostage and cease-fire deal between the organization and Israel.

"The atmosphere is positive unless there are new Israeli obstacles," the official said.

The proposal includes the release of 33 Israeli hostages during the first phase, and a vague statement formulated by Israel to appease Hamas regarding the cessation of hostilities.

A delegation of Hamas representatives will arrive in Cairo on Monday for continued negotiations with senior Egyptian intelligence officials. According to Hamas officials, the recent proposal drawn up by Egypt lead to progress, especially regarding a cease-fire and a withdrawal of Israel from Gaza which allows the return of displaced Gazans.

Amid hostage talks, Netanyahu, Biden speak on phone, discuss Rafah incursion

U.S. President Joe Biden spoke on Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a White House spokesperson said, the first conversation between the two leaders in more than two weeks.

According to a statement, Biden "reaffirmed his ironclad commitment to Israel's security following the successful defense against Iran's unprecedented missile and drone attack earlier this month."

They both "reviewed ongoing talks to secure the release of hostages together with an immediate cease-fire in Gaza," and "increases in the delivery of humanitarian assistance into Gaza including through preparations to open new northern crossings starting this week."

According to the statement, they also discussed Rafah and Biden "reiterated his clear position."

Israeli FM warns Israeli missions worldwide of wave of antisemitic acts in light of possible ICC arrest warrants against senior Israeli officials

Amid the possibility of arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court against senior Israeli officials, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz instructed on Sunday that Israeli embassies, consulates and Jewish organizations across the globe prepare for "a wave of severe antisemitism, anti-Jewish, and anti-Israeli outbreaks," according to a statement by his office.

"If the warrants are issued, they will harm the commanders and soldiers of the IDF and provide a morale boost to the terrorist organization Hamas and the axis of radical Islam led by Iran against which we are fighting," said Katz, in the statement.

"Israel is fighting against a murderous terrorist organization that has attacked it and committed some of the most heinous crimes in history against citizens who stayed in their homes and young people who attended a festival, including serious sexual crimes of rape, murder, and desecration of bodies against women and girls," he added.

"Israel acts in strict adherence to all laws of war, with a strong and independent legal system, and allows extensive humanitarian assistance to the population in Gaza in cooperation with international bodies, despite Hamas using the population as human shields, attacking, and impeding the provision of assistance," the statement read.

RECAP: Hamas delegation to arrive in Cairo on Monday to continue hostage deal talks; Biden, Netanyahu expected to talk on Sunday

Here are the latest updates for day 205 of the war:

■ A Hamas delegation, led by the head of the group's negotiating team Khalil al-Hayya, will arrive in Cairo on Monday to continue discussions with senior Egyptian intelligence officials as part of the negotiations for a cease-fire and hostage release deal.

■ Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that if he cancels the operation in Rafah, in southern Gaza, the government he heads would have no right to exist.

■ French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné arrived in Lebanon Sunday as part of diplomatic attempts to broker a deescalation in the conflict on the Lebanon-Israel border.

■ Two settlers were arrested on Saturday after clashing with Israeli forces near the Palestinian village of Susya in the West Bank.

■ Defense Minister Yoav Gallant signed on administrative arrest warrants against five Israeli settlers.

■ War cabinet minister Benny Gantz took to X on Sunday, saying that the government would have no right to exist if its members prevent a hostage deal, adding that the return of the hostages is of greater importance than a military operation in Rafah.

■ Israel has agreed to listen to U.S. concerns and thoughts before it launches an invasion of the border city of Rafah in Gaza, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said on Sunday.

■ World Central Kitchen (WCK) announced on Sunday that they are resuming operations in the Gaza Strip.

■ A humanitarian aid flotilla destined for Gaza was halted after Guinea Bissau decided to remove its flag from two vessels, activist group Freedom Flotilla Coalition said on Saturday.

■ Biden and Netanyahu expected to talk on Sunday, according to U.S. official

■ Sen. Bernie Sanders describes Israel's actions in Gaza as "ethnic cleansing" - the first time he has used such language despite months of increasingly harsh criticism.

■ IDF: Aircraft attacked building in southern Lebanon after Hezbollah terrorist seen entering the premises