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Hamas reportedly rejects 2-month ceasefire as White House, Qatar say talks are ‘serious’
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Hamas reportedly rejected an Israeli offer for a two-month ceasefire in exchange for the release of hostages held in Gaza, even as top U.S. and Qatari officials said talks aimed at an extended pause in the war are “serious.”
On Monday, Axios reported that Israel proposed the pause of up to two months, during which it would release Palestinian prisoners held on security offenses and draw down its troop levels in Gaza while Hamas released all 136 hostages it is holding. CNN reported that an offer by Israel would include the removal of Hamas’ leadership, and that of other terror groups, from Gaza.
But subsequent reports quoted officials in Egypt, which is also a party to negotiations, saying Hamas rejected anything less than a permanent ceasefire and the full withdrawal of Israeli troops, and would not countenance the exile of its leadership.
Hamas terrorists invaded Israel on Oct. 7, killing more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians, brutalizing thousands and abducting more than 250. More than 25,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched counterstrikes. Israel says about a third of the casualties are combatants. More than 200 Israeli soldiers have been killed in the invasion of Gaza.
The war has devastated much of Gaza and displaced the vast majority of its population of 2.3 million people. International health officials say the population is on the verge of starvation. McGurk is also negotiating terms for the entry of increased humanitarian assistance into the strip.
Within Israel, debate over the war effort has grown more heated, especially as 24 soldiers were killed on Monday, the Israeli military’s deadliest day since Oct. 7. The relatives of the hostages are leading a protest movement pushing the government to agree to a deal for their release, and some of the relatives interrupted a meeting of lawmakers to demand that the government do more to secure their loved ones’ freedom.
Israeli and Hamas officials did not comment on this week’s reports, but U.S. and Qatari officials said talks were serious, while declining to address the reports’ specifics.
John Kirby, the National Security Council spokesman, said Tuesday that Brett McGurk, President Joe Biden’s Middle East coordinator, is seeking a deal while he tours the region. McGurk is currently in Egypt which, as the only other nation bordering the Gaza Strip, has a key role in bringing together any deal.
“One of the things he’s in the region talking about is the potential for another hostage deal, which would require a humanitarian pause of some length to get that done, and that’s definitely on the agenda,” he said, while declining to confirm the specifics of the reports. “Conversations are very sober and serious about trying to get another hostage deal in place.”
Under a deal brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the United States in November, Israel and Hamas ceased fire for about a week, exchanging more than 100 hostages for roughly three times that number of Palestinian prisoners. A handful of hostages were separately released or rescued earlier, and at least three hostages were mistakenly killed by Israeli fire. At least 20 hostages are believed to be dead; the deal Israel proposed would include the return of their bodies.
Majed Al Ansari, the Qatari foreign ministry spokesman, said the talks were advanced enough that he was optimistic. Qatar is one of a handful of countries that has extensive dealings with Hamas, whose political leadership lives in Qatar, and which has funded the movement.
“I can’t comment on the specificities of the mediation as it is going on but what I can say is that we are engaged in serious discussions with both sides, we have presented ideas to both sides, we are getting a constant stream of replies from both sides, and that in its own right is a cause for optimism,” he said.
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The post Hamas reportedly rejects 2-month ceasefire as White House, Qatar say talks are ‘serious’ appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Iran’s Supreme Leader Says Trump Is Lying When He Speaks of Peace
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting with government officials in Tehran, Iran, April 15, 2025. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused Donald Trump on Saturday of lying when the US president said during his Gulf tour this week that he wanted peace in the region.
On the contrary, said Khamenei, the United States uses its power to give “10-ton bombs to the Zionist (Israeli) regime to drop on the heads of Gaza’s children.”
Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One after departing the United Arab Emirates on Friday that Iran had to move quickly on a US proposal for its nuclear program or “something bad’s going to happen.”
His remarks, said Khamenei, “aren’t even worth responding to.” They are an “embarrassment to the speaker and the American people,” Khamenei added.
“Undoubtedly, the source of corruption, war, and conflict in this region is the Zionist regime — a dangerous, deadly cancerous tumor that must be uprooted; it will be uprooted,” he said at an event at a religious center in Tehran, according to state media.
Earlier on Saturday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Trump speaks about peace while simultaneously making threats.
“Which should we believe?” Pezeshkian said at a naval event in Tehran. “On the one hand, he speaks of peace and on the other, he threatens with the most advanced tools of mass killing.”
Tehran would continue Iran-US nuclear talks but is not afraid of threats. “We are not seeking war,” Pezeshkian said.
While Trump said on Friday that Iran had a US proposal about its nuclear program, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in a post on X said Tehran had not received any such proposal. “There is no scenario in which Iran abandons its hard-earned right to (uranium) enrichment for peaceful purposes…” he said.
Araqchi warned on Saturday that Washington’s constant change of stance prolongs nuclear talks, state TV reported.
“It is absolutely unacceptable that America repeatedly defines a new framework for negotiations that prolongs the process,” the broadcast quoted Araqchi as saying.
Pezeshkian said Iran would not “back down from our legitimate rights”.
“Because we refuse to bow to bullying, they say we are source of instability in the region,” he said.
A fourth round of Iran-U.S. talks ended in Oman last Sunday. A new round has not been scheduled yet.
The post Iran’s Supreme Leader Says Trump Is Lying When He Speaks of Peace first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hamas Confirms New Gaza Ceasefire Talks with Israel in Qatar on Saturday
Doha, Qatar. Photo: StellarD via Wikimedia Commons.
A new round of Gaza ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel is underway in Qatar’s Doha, Hamas official Taher al-Nono told Reuters on Saturday.
He said the two sides were discussing all issues without “pre-conditions.”
Nono said Hamas was “keen to exert all the effort needed” to help mediators make the negotiations a success, adding there was “no certain offer on the table.”
The negotiations come despite Israel preparing to expand operations in the Gaza Strip as they seek “operational control” in some areas of the war-torn enclave.
The return to negotiations also comes after US President Donald Trump ended a Middle East tour on Friday with no apparent progress towards a new ceasefire, although he acknowledged Gaza’s growing hunger crisis and the need for aid deliveries.
The post Hamas Confirms New Gaza Ceasefire Talks with Israel in Qatar on Saturday first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Report: ICC’s Khan Goes on Administrative Leave Amid Sexual Misconduct Probe
International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan speaks during an interview with Reuters in The Hague, Netherlands, Feb. 12, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw
i24 News – Chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Khan has stepped down temporarily as an investigation into his alleged sexual misconduct by United Nations investigators is nearing its final phase, Reuters reported on Friday citing sources from the international court.
Khan allegedly forced sexual intercourse upon a member of staff on multiple occasions, the Wall Street Journal reported last week, linking the allegations to Khan’s decision to issue arrest warrants for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-defense minister Yoav Gallant.
A statement is expected later today announcing that Khan is going on administrative leave, according to a source in the prosecutor’s office.
The post Report: ICC’s Khan Goes on Administrative Leave Amid Sexual Misconduct Probe first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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