What do we know so far about the latest ceasefire talks?
Peter Beaumont
On Tuesday, an Israeli negotiating team visited Qatar, while a Reuters report (denied by the prime minister's office and Egypt) said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was planning a trip to Cairo for talks.
Instead, Prime Minister Netanyahu's office announced that he had inspected a buffer zone in Syria recently occupied by Israeli forces after the fall of Syria's Bashar al-Assad regime, and said the zone would remain under Israeli control for the time being. Ta.
However, two Egyptian security officials said that Netanyahu was not in Cairo “at the moment” but added that meetings were underway to resolve remaining issues. Its main content was Hamas's demand for guarantees that an immediate agreement would lead to a comprehensive agreement. Agreed later.
CIA Director William Burns, the United States' lead negotiator, was in Doha on Wednesday to meet with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani to bridge the gap left between Israel and Hamas. Reuters reported that it was planned.
Hamas said in a statement that a deal was possible if Israel stopped setting new conditions. A Palestinian official close to the mediation efforts said negotiations were serious and every word was on the table.
White House Press Secretary John Kirby reinforced his optimism in an interview with Fox News, saying: We are cautious about our optimism. ”
But he added: “We've been in this position before and we couldn't cross the finish line.”
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Instead, Netanyahu’s office said he had toured a buffer zone inside Syria that was recently seized by Israeli forces after the fall of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, which he said would remain under Israeli control for the foreseeable future.
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Two Egyptian security sources added, however, that Netanyahu was not in Cairo “at this moment” but that a meeting was under way to work through the remaining points – chief among them a Hamas demand for guarantees that any immediate deal would lead to a comprehensive agreement later.
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CIA director William Burns, a key US negotiator, was due in Doha on Wednesday for talks with Qatari prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on bridging remaining gaps between Israel and Hamas, Reuters reported.
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Hamas said in a statement that a deal was possible if Israel stopped setting new conditions. A Palestinian official close to the mediation efforts said negotiations were serious, with discussions under way about every word.
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Reinforcing the sense of optimism the White House spokesperson John Kirby said in an interview with Fox News: “We believe – and the Israelis have said this – that we’re getting closer, and no doubt about it, we believe that, but we also are cautious in our optimism.”
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He added, however: “We’ve been in this position before where we weren’t able to get it over the finish line.”
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Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the Middle East crisis.
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The pace of talks aimed at securing a ceasefire-for-hostages agreement in Gaza appeared to be accelerating, amid claims on both sides that a deal may be within reach, perhaps within days.
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Senior Israeli officials, Hamas sources, and US and Arab officials have all expressed optimism that a deal may be close for a phased release of the surviving hostages in Gaza in exchange for a ceasefire and the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
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About 60 living hostages, mainly Israeli and dual nationals, are believed to be still held in Gaza as well as the bodies of 35 others, out of more than 240 who were abducted to Gaza during Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel on 7 October 2023.
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More on that shortly. First, in other developments:
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A ceasefire between Turkey and the U.S.-backed Kurdish Syrian forces (SDF) around the northern Syrian city of Manbij has been extended until the end of this week, state department spokesperson Matthew Miller has said. Washington brokered an initial ceasefire last week after fighting that broke out earlier this month as rebel groups advanced on Damascus and overthrew the rule of Bashar al-Assad.
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Geir Pedersen, the UN’s special envoy for Syria, however, has warned that the conflict “has not ended”, highlighting the clashes between the Turkish-backed and Kurdish groups.
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Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Israeli forces will stay in a buffer zone on the Syrian border, seized after the ouster of Syria’s President Bashar Assad, until another arrangement is in place “that ensures Israel’s security.” Netanyahu made the comments from the summit of Mount Hermon about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the border with the Israel-held Golan Heights.
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Israeli lawmakers narrowly approved the country’s 2025 state budget in an initial vote. The 59-57 vote in the Knesset – the Israeli parliament – to pass the wartime austerity budget in its first of three readings.
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A UN refugee agency official said that about one million Syrian refugees are expected to return to the country in the first six months of 2025, with thousands of people already having returned to the country mostly from Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan.
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Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, said his country’s forces will maintain “security control” over the devastated Gaza Strip, even after the war is over, with Israeli soldiers able to act with “full freedom of action” over the territory.
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At least 45,059 Palestinian people have been killed and 107,041 injured in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza since 7 October 2023, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement. Of those, 31 Palestinians were killed and 79 injured in the latest 24-hour reporting period, the ministry said.
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At least 10 people were confirmed killed in an Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza City that destroyed the building, while further north in the town of Beit Lahiya at least 15 people were reportedly killed while they were sheltering in a house.
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Ahmed al-Sharaa, the leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group that toppled Assad, said all rebel factions would “be disbanded and the fighters trained to join the ranks of the defence ministry” during a meeting with members of the minority Druze community.
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The EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said the bloc would send an ambassador back to Damascus. “We are ready to reopen our delegation, which is the European embassy, and we want this to be fully operational again,” she said. Kallas added that the EU would aim to help authorities restore basic services like electricity, water and infrastructure.
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main events
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would remain in the strategic Mount Hermon on the Syrian border until an alternative arrangement was found.
After the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime earlier this month, Israeli forces moved into the demilitarized zone between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and occupied Mount Hermon.
Officials have described the move as a limited and temporary measure to ensure the security of Israel's borders, but have not said when the troops will be withdrawn, and Defense Minister Israel Katz said last week that , ordered his troops to prepare to remain on Mount Hermon for the winter.
Prime Minister Netanyahu visited the site to brief military commanders and security officials.
In a statement released by his office, he said:
We are conducting this assessment to determine the deployment of the IDF to this critical location until an alternative arrangement is found that ensures Israel's security.
Israel's entry into the buffer zone, created after the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, has been criticized by many countries and the United Nations as a violation of international agreements, and calls for the withdrawal of troops.
You can read my colleague Peter Beaumont's full report on the Gaza ceasefire negotiations here.
What do we know so far about the latest ceasefire talks?
Peter Beaumont
On Tuesday, an Israeli negotiating team visited Qatar, while a Reuters report (denied by the prime minister's office and Egypt) said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was planning a trip to Cairo for talks.
Instead, Prime Minister Netanyahu's office announced that he had inspected a buffer zone in Syria recently occupied by Israeli forces after the fall of Syria's Bashar al-Assad regime, and said the zone would remain under Israeli control for the time being. Ta.
However, two Egyptian security officials said that Netanyahu was not in Cairo “at the moment” but added that meetings were underway to resolve remaining issues. Its main content was Hamas's demand for guarantees that an immediate agreement would lead to a comprehensive agreement. Agreed later.
CIA Director William Burns, the United States' lead negotiator, was in Doha on Wednesday to meet with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani to bridge the gap left between Israel and Hamas. Reuters reported that it was planned.
Hamas said in a statement that a deal was possible if Israel stopped setting new conditions. A Palestinian official close to the mediation efforts said negotiations were serious and every word was on the table.
White House Press Secretary John Kirby reinforced his optimism in an interview with Fox News, saying: We are cautious about our optimism. ”
But he added: “We've been in this position before and we couldn't cross the finish line.”
Opening overview
Philip Wen
Hello. Welcome to our live coverage of the Middle East crisis.
The pace of negotiations aimed at securing a hostage ceasefire agreement in Gaza appears to be accelerating, with both sides claiming an agreement could possibly be reached within days.
Israeli officials, Hamas officials, and U.S. and Arab officials have all agreed to agree to a phased release of the remaining hostages in the Gaza Strip in exchange for a ceasefire and the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons. He expressed optimism that it might be close.
Of the more than 240 people abducted to Gaza in the Hamas raid on Israel on October 7, 2023, approximately 60 hostages, mostly Israelis and dual nationals, are still alive today, as well as 35 others. The body is believed to be held in Gaza.
More details later. First, in other development it looks like this:
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The ceasefire between Turkey and the US-backed Kurdish Syrian Forces (SDF) around the northern Syrian city of Manbij has been extended until the end of this week. This was announced by State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller. Washington brokered an initial ceasefire last week after fighting broke out earlier this month as rebels marched into Damascus to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad's government.
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Gail Pedersen, But the UN special envoy for Syria warned that the conflict was “not over yet”.highlighting conflicts between Turkish aid groups and Kurdish groups.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Israeli forces would remain in a buffer zone on the Syrian border. It was seized after the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad until other arrangements could be made to “ensure Israel's security.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the comments from the top of Mount Hermon, about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the border with the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights.
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Israeli lawmakers narrowly approved the state budget for 2025 in their first vote. The Knesset, Israel's parliament, passed the wartime austerity budget on the first of three readings by a vote of 59 to 57.
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About 1 million Syrian refugees are expected to return to Syria, U.N. refugee agency officials said. Thousands of people have already returned home in the first six months of 2025, mainly from Türkiye, Lebanon and Jordan.
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Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said: said His country's military will maintain “security control” of the devastated Gaza Strip even after the war ends. Israeli soldiers have “complete freedom of action” within the territory.
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At least 45,059 Palestinians have been killed and 107,041 injured in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza since October 7, 2023. Gaza's Ministry of Health said in a statement. Of these, 31 Palestinians were killed and 79 injured in the latest 24-hour reporting period, the ministry said.
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At least 10 people confirmed dead in Israeli airstrike Homes in Gaza City were destroyed, and further north in the town of Beit Rahiya, at least 15 people were reportedly killed while taking shelter in their homes.
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ahmed al sharra, The leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group, which ousted Assad, said all rebel groups would be “disbanded and the fighters trained to become part of the Ministry of Defense.” During a meeting with members of the minority Druze community.
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EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kalas said the EU would send an ambassador to Damascus. “We are ready to reopen our European embassies, our missions, and we want them to be fully functional again,” she said. Karas added that the EU will aim to help authorities restore basic services such as electricity, water and infrastructure.
