Washington has joined its European allies in pushing for a swift ceasefire in Gaza

Beirut (AFP): Hamas said Friday the Palestinian group rejected “new conditions” in a Gaza ceasefire plan the United States presented after two days of talks with Israeli negotiators in Qatar.
As international pressure mounted for a ceasefire after more than 10 months of war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, US President Joe Biden said: “We are closer than we have ever been.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is to travel to Israel this weekend to advance the latest proposal, the State Department said.
“Secretary Blinken will underscore the critical need for all parties in the region to avoid escalation or any other actions that could undermine the ability to finalise an agreement,” it said.
Washington has joined its European allies in pushing for a swift ceasefire in Gaza since the July 31 killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in an attack in Iran blamed on Israel prompted threats of retaliation and fears of a wider Middle East war.
Egyptian, Qatari and US mediators have been seeking to finalise details of a framework initially outlined by Biden in May, and which he said Israel had proposed.
But months of talks have so far failed to pin down the details of a truce and hostage release deal.
The mediators said that the two days of talks in Doha were “serious and constructive”.
In a joint statement, they said the United States had presented a “bridging proposal” that sought to secure a rapid deal at a new round of talks in Cairo next week.
Hamas swiftly announced its opposition to what it called “new conditions” from Israel in the latest plan.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the mediators to put “pressure” on Hamas “to accept the May 27 principles”, referring to Biden’s framework.
Western ally Jordan however put the blame squarely on Netanyahu for blocking a deal, with Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi urging pressure “by everyone who wishes to see this through to completion”.
– ‘Impunity’ –
An informed source told AFP that the conditions Hamas objected to included keeping Israeli troops on Gaza’s border with Egypt, and terms related to the release Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails in exchange for Israeli hostages.
Diplomatic pressure on Israel to agree a truce has increased in recent weeks.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy and his French counterpart Stephane Sejourne held talks in Israel Friday to urge a Gaza ceasefire.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz told his visiting counterparts he expects foreign support “in attacking” Iran if it strikes Israel in revenge for Haniyeh’s killing.
Sejourne replied that it would be “inappropriate” to discuss responding to any attack while diplomacy is in high gear to stop it happening.
A senior US official, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, said Iran would face “cataclysmic” consequences if it strikes Israel.
A deadly attack by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank late Thursday drew international condemnation and calls for sanctions, including against government ministers, over the upsurge in settler violence against Palestinians particularly since the Gaza war began.
The Israeli military said “dozens of Israeli civilians, some of them masked”, entered the village of Jit, west of Nablus, and “set fire to vehicles and structures in the area, hurled rocks and Molotov cocktails”. A Palestinian man was shot dead.
The West Bank-based Palestinian foreign ministry described the attack as “organised state terrorism”.
The European Union’s top diplomat Josep Borrell said he would propose sanctions against Israeli government “enablers” of Jewish settler violence.
“Day after day, in an almost total impunity, Israeli settlers fuel violence in the occupied West Bank,” Borrell posted on X.
“The Israeli government must stop these unacceptable actions immediately.”
Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a proponent of West Bank settlements, was quick to join other Israeli leaders in condemning Thursday’s attack by “criminals”.
Qatar condemns Israeli airstrike in Doha
- 6 hours ago

Deadly Russian bombing hits Ukrainian village, 23 killed
- 6 hours ago
Multiple explosions reported in Doha amid alleged targeting of Hamas leaders
- 7 hours ago

Govt reduces power tariff for entire country
- 4 hours ago
Stop AI from using my images in obscene videos, Aishwarya Rai petitions court
- 4 hours ago
Yamaha shuts down motorcycle production in Pakistan
- 5 hours ago
New cancer vaccine developed in Russia shows high effectiveness in early trials
- 7 hours ago

Rana Sanaullah wins Punjab senate seat in by-election amid PTI boycott
- 7 hours ago
May 9 riots: ATC acquits Qureshi, hands 10-year jail terms to Yasmin, Mehmood
- 5 hours ago
Five-storey building partially sinks in Karachi
- 6 hours ago
Pakistan, China to jointly train astronauts, establish space center
- 2 hours ago
Sindh fully prepared to deal with floods, says Bilawal
- 6 hours ago