Israel-Gaza war: Netanyahu approves new ceasefire talks with Hamas to take place in Doha, Cairo ‘in the coming days’
- Netanyahu’s office said it has approved a new round of Gaza ceasefire talks to take place in Doha and Cairo, days after the negotiations appeared stalled
- Since the UN Security Council adopted a resolution on Monday demanding an ‘immediate ceasefire’ Hamas and Israel have traded blame for a failure to agree a deal
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved on Friday new talks on a Gaza ceasefire, a day after the world’s top court ordered Israel to ensure urgent humanitarian aid reaches people in the Palestinian territory.
But despite a binding United Nations Security Council resolution this week demanding an “immediate ceasefire”, fighting continued on Friday, including around hospitals.
Regional fallout from the conflict also flared, with Israel saying it killed a Hezbollah rocket commander in Lebanon, and several Hezbollah fighters killed in Syria strikes that a war monitor blamed on Israel.
Netanyahu’s office said new talks on a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release will take place in Doha and Cairo “in the coming days … with guidelines for moving forward in the negotiations”, days after they appeared stalled.
In its order, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague said: “Palestinians in Gaza are no longer facing only a risk of famine, but … famine is setting in.”
Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, posted on X that the ruling was “a stark reminder that the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is man made + worsening”.
