Sawt Falasteen - Netanyahu says Trump meeting could 'advance' Gaza deal ahead of Doha talks

Under mounting pressure to end the war, now approaching its 22nd month, the Israeli premier is scheduled to sit down on Monday with Trump, who has recently made a renewed push to end the fighting.

Speaking before boarding Israel's state jet bound for Washington, Netanyahu said: "We are working to achieve this deal that we have discussed, under the conditions that we have agreed to."

He added he had dispatched the team to Doha "with clear instructions", and thought the meeting with Trump "can definitely help advance this (deal), which we are all hoping for".

Netanyahu had previously said Hamas's response to a draft US-backed ceasefire proposal contained "unacceptable" demands.

A Palestinian official familiar with the talks and close to Hamas said international mediators had informed the group that "a new round of indirect negotiations... will begin in Doha today".

The talks would focus on conditions for a possible ceasefire, including hostage and prisoner releases, and Hamas would also seek the reopening of Gaza's Rafah crossing to evacuate the wounded, the official told AFP.

Hamas's delegation, led by its top negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, was in Doha, the official told AFP. Israel's public broadcaster said the country's delegation had left for the Qatari capital in the early afternoon.

Qatar's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether the indirect negotiations had begun.

- 'Enough blood' -

Two Palestinian sources close to the discussions told AFP the proposal included a 60-day truce, during which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and several bodies in exchange for Palestinians detained by Israel.

However, they said, the group was also demanding certain conditions for Israel's withdrawal, guarantees against a resumption of fighting during negotiations, and the return of the UN-led aid distribution system.

On the ground, Gaza's civil defence agency reported 26 people were killed by Israeli forces on Sunday.

It said 10 were killed in a pre-dawn strike on Gaza City's Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood, where AFP images showed Palestinians searching through the debris for survivors with their bare hands.

"The rest of the family is still under the rubble," Sheikh Radwan resident Osama al-Hanawi told AFP.

"We are losing young people, families and children every day, and this must stop now. Enough blood has been shed."

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency.

Contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said it could not comment on specific strikes without precise coordinates.

Of the 251 hostages taken by Palestinian militants during the 2023 attack, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.

Recent efforts to broker a new truce have repeatedly failed, with the primary point of contention being Israel's rejection of Hamas's demand for a lasting ceasefire.

- 'Dying for flour' -

The war has created dire humanitarian conditions for the more than two million people in the Gaza Strip.

Karima al-Ras, from Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, said "we hope that a truce will be announced" to allow in more aid.

"People are dying for flour," she said.

A US- and Israel-backed group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, took the lead in food distribution in the territory in late May, when Israel partially lifted a more than two-month blockade on aid deliveries.

UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the GHF over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.

The UN human rights office said last week that more than 500 people have been killed waiting to access food from GHF distribution points.

The Gaza health ministry on Sunday placed the toll even higher, at 751 killed.

Hamas's October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 57,418 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The United Nations considers the figures reliable.

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R.Halabi--SF-PST