FLASH
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Israel continued its attacks on the Gaza Strip today, including the town of Rafah, a day after the International Court of Justice ordered it to halt military operations in the southern city. Meanwhile, according to the Reuters agency, Israel and the Hamas group are expected to resume ceasefire talks next week.
Negotiations between Israel and the militant group Hamas on a ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip will resume next week, an official with knowledge of the matter said on Saturday.
The decision to resume talks, the official told Reuters news agency, came after the head of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency met with the head of the CIA and the prime minister of Qatar, which has long played the role of mediator.
"At the end of the meeting, it was decided to open negotiations next week based on the new proposals led by the mediators, Egypt and Qatar, and with the active involvement of the US," said the official who, due to the sensitivity of the issue, did not agreed to be identified.
On Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron hosted the Qatari prime minister and the Saudi, Egyptian and Jordanian foreign ministers to discuss a ceasefire between Israel and the militant group Hamas. The French presidency said they held talks on the war in Gaza and ways to create a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
Meanwhile, Israel attacked the Gaza Strip on Saturday, including the town of Rafah, a day after the International Court of Justice ordered it to halt military operations in the southern city.
The International Court of Justice also demanded the immediate release of all hostages held by Palestinian militants, hours after the Israeli army announced that its forces had found the bodies of three hostages in northern Gaza.
The Hague-based court also ordered Israel to keep open the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza, which it closed earlier this month after announcing an offensive on the city. The International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, is the highest legal body of the United Nations to deal with disputes between states. Its decisions are final, but in the past they have not been enforced. The court has no binding power.
Egypt said on Friday it has agreed to send trucks with United Nations humanitarian aid to Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing, but it remains unclear whether the trucks will be able to enter the territory as fighting continues.
Israel says the Rafah border crossing has reopened and has asked Egypt to coordinate with it on sending aid convoys. Earlier, Cairo had not accepted this condition. After a phone conversation with US President Joe Biden, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi agreed to allow UN trucks carrying humanitarian aid to the Kerem Shalom crossing until a solution is found for the Rafah crossing.
But experts say it is unclear whether the UN will be able to send additional trucks from Egypt to Gaza.
Israeli leaders have said that they will continue the attacks in Rafah, as according to them Hamas must be eradicated from this city.
Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped about 250 others in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, according to Israeli figures. About half of the hostages have been released, most in exchanges for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel during a week-long ceasefire in November.
Israel's bombing campaign and offensive in Gaza has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 80,000 others, the Health Ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza said on Friday. / VOA
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