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Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Israel to resume Gaza ceasefire talks on March 17

The talks will be held in Doha and will focus on the outstanding differences between Israel and Hamas concerning the ceasefire, Reuters said

DUBAI, March 16. /TASS/. Mossad chief David Barnea is expected to resume talks on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Egyptian officials on March 17, Reuters said, citing its sources.

According to the sources, the talks will be held in Doha and will focus on the outstanding differences between Israel and Hamas concerning the ceasefire, including the number of Palestinian prisoners to be potentially released in exchange for Israeli hostages and humanitarian deliveries to the Gaza Strip.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 after militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise incursion on Israeli territory, killing many Israeli kibbutz residents living near the Gaza border and abducting more than 240 Israelis, including women, children and the elderly. Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched bombardments of the enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria, as well as a ground operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Clashes are also reported in the West Bank.

In late November 2023, Hamas announced an agreement with Israel, which was brokered by Egypt and Qatar, on a four-day humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip, which took effect on November 24. The sides extended the ceasefire several times but on the morning of December 1 the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that Hamas had violated the truce in Gaza and opened fire on Israeli territory, thus prompting the IDF to resume combat operations in the Gaza Strip.

During the week-long humanitarian pause, 110 people abducted by Hamas on October 7, 2023 were released.

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Palestine Israel Israeli-Palestinian conflict

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