Skip next section Hamas delegation in Egypt to respond to Israeli cease-fire proposal
04/29/2024April 29, 2024
Hamas delegation in Egypt to respond to Israeli cease-fire proposal
A Hamas delegation is expected on Monday in Egypt, to respond to and truce in Gaza after nearly seven months of war.
There have been efforts — led by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States — to mediate a deal for months as appeals for an agreement intensify.
A deal aimed at releasing hostages taken in the October 7 attacks, and to reach a cease-fire has been elusive so far. Any agreement is expected to seek to allow more humanitarian relief into the Gaza Strip.
, told AFP news agency on Sunday it had no “major issues” with the content of Israel’s most recent offer for a truce and that the atmosphere was initially “positive.”
Israel’s offensive has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians and displaced about 80% of the population, with hundreds of thousands said to be on the brink of famine. The Palestinian death toll figure comes from the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, with their number generally seen as reliable by the UN.
Hamas and other Islamist militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the October 7 terror attack, and took another 250 hostages. That attack triggered the ongoing Israeli military campaign in Gaza.
https://p.dw.com/p/4fHUx
Skip next section Germany’s Baerbock also in Riyadh for Gaza talks
04/29/2024April 29, 2024
Germany’s Baerbock also in Riyadh for Gaza talks
is among those taking part in a special meeting of the in Riyadh.
Organizers say the summit will focus on the situation in the Gaza Strip.
Among the approximately thousand participants are several heads of state and government as well as numerous foreign ministers from the Middle East and Europe.
World Economic Forum President Börge Brende on Saturday said there was “some new momentum now in the talks around the hostages, and also for… a possible way out of the impasse we are faced with in Gaza.”
https://p.dw.com/p/4fHWb
Skip next section Blinken arrives in Saudi Arabia for talks on how to rebuild Gaza
04/29/2024April 29, 2024
Blinken arrives in Saudi Arabia for talks on how to rebuild Gaza
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken touched down on Monday for talks in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, aimed at pushing an Israel-Hamas cease-fire deal and looking at a future for Gaza.
It is Blinken’s seventh visit to the region since the October 7 terror attacks on Israel, which sparked the Israeli military campaign in .
He is expected to talk to the Saudi leadership about the normalization of relations with Israel — a prospect that Washington hopes might encourage moderation on the part of the Israeli government.
Blinken is also due to meet European foreign ministers and Gulf Arab leaders visiting for Gulf Cooperation Council talks and a World Economic Forum meeting.
A State Department official said Blinken would discuss “day-after” plans for the reconstruction of post-war Gaza with the leaders and ministers. Israel’s war in Gaza is still ongoing.
The meeting with the five Arab states — Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan — is also aimed at furthering discussions on the governance of the Gaza Strip after the war.
From Riyadh, Blinken is set to head to Jordan and Israel.
rc/wd (Reuters, AFP, AP, dpa)
https://p.dw.com/p/4fHUz
The post Middle East updates: Blinken in Saudi Arabia on crisis tour appeared first on Deutsche Welle.