Israeli team heads to Qatar for Gaza truce talks

Displaced Palestinian children push into a queue to get a portion of cooked food from a charity kitchen in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza Strip, ahead of iftar during Ramadan on March 9, 2025. (AFP)
Displaced Palestinian children push into a queue to get a portion of cooked food from a charity kitchen in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza Strip, ahead of iftar during Ramadan on March 9, 2025. (AFP)
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Updated 10 March 2025
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Israeli team heads to Qatar for Gaza truce talks

Displaced Palestinian children push into a queue to get a portion of cooked food from a charity kitchen in Beit Lahia in Gaza.
  • Ahead of the negotiations, Israel disconnected the only power line to a water desalination plant in Gaza
  • Hamas denounced the move as “cheap and unacceptable blackmail”

JERUSALEM: Israel’s negotiating team left for Qatar Monday for talks aimed at extending the fragile Gaza ceasefire, after Israel cut the Palestinian territory’s electricity supply to ramp up pressure on Hamas.
Ahead of the negotiations, Israel disconnected the only power line to a water desalination plant in Gaza, a move Hamas denounced as “cheap and unacceptable blackmail.”
The first phase of the truce deal expired on March 1 with no agreement on subsequent stages that should secure a lasting end to the war that erupted with Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
There are differences over how to proceed — Hamas wants immediate negotiations on the next phase, but Israel prefers extending phase one.
Hamas accused Israel of reneging on the ceasefire deal, saying in a statement Monday Israel “refuses to commence the second phase, exposing its intentions of evasion and stalling.”
An Israeli official familiar with the negotiations told AFP the country’s team had left for Doha. Media reports said the delegation was led by a top official from the domestic security agency Shin Bet.
Israel has halted aid deliveries to Gaza amid the deadlock, and said Sunday it was cutting the electricity supply.
“We will use all the tools at our disposal to bring back the hostages and ensure that Hamas is no longer in Gaza the day after” the war, Energy Minister Eli Cohen said.
The move echoed the early days of the war when Israel announced a “complete siege” on the Palestinian territory, severing the electricity supply which was only restored in mid-2024.
Hamas spokesman Abdul Latif Al-Qanoua said Israel’s move will impact its hostages still held in Gaza.
“The decision to cut electricity is a failed option and poses a threat to its (Israeli) prisoners, who will only be freed through negotiations,” Qanoua said in a statement on Monday.
Germany and Britain both criticized Israel over its latest decisions.
Germany foreign ministry spokeswoman Kathrin Deschauer said Gaza was “again threatened with a food shortage” and that cutting off electricity was “unacceptable and not compatible with (Israel’s) obligations under international law.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s official spokesman told reporters: “We’re deeply concerned by these reports and urge Israel to lift these restrictions.”
The Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority also slammed Israel, calling the move an “escalation in the genocide” in Gaza.
The sole power line between Israel and Gaza supplies its main desalination plant, and Gazans now mainly rely on solar panels and fuel-powered generators to produce electricity.
Hundreds of thousands now live in tents across Gaza, where temperatures currently reach a night-time low of about 12 degrees Celsius (54 Fahrenheit).
Top Hamas official Izzat Al-Rishq called Israel’s decision “to cut off electricity to Gaza, after depriving it of food, medicine, and water” a “desperate attempt to pressure our people and their resistance.”
Gaza residents told AFP the electricity cut will only worsen their situation.
“The decision to cut off electricity is proof of a war of extermination,” Dina Al-Sayigh said from Gaza City.
“The occupation never stops killing Palestinian civilians, whether by bombing, missiles or by starvation.”
Hamas has repeatedly demanded that the second phase of the truce — brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the United States — include a comprehensive hostage-prisoner exchange, a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, a permanent ceasefire and the reopening of border crossings to end the blockade.
Spokesman Hazem Qassem told AFP Hamas wanted the mediators to ensure Israel “complies with the agreement... and proceeds with the second phase according to the agreed-upon terms.”
Former US president Joe Biden had outlined a second phase involving hostage releases and the withdrawal of all Israeli forces from Gaza.
US envoy Adam Boehler, who has held unprecedented direct talks with Hamas, told CNN Sunday a deal could be reached “within weeks” to secure the release of all remaining hostages, not just the five dual US-Israelis, most of whom have been confirmed dead.
Of the 251 hostages taken during the October 7 attack, 58 are still held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military has confirmed dead.
Boehler told CNN a “long-term truce” was “real close,” but later Sunday he told Israel’s Channel 12 that Washington would back any Israeli decision, including a return to war.
In late February, US President Donald Trump issued what he called a “last warning” to Hamas, threatening further destruction if it does not release all remaining hostages.
The initial 42-day phase of the truce, which began on January 19, reduced hostilities after more than 15 months of relentless fighting that displaced nearly all of Gaza’s 2.4 million people.
During phase one, 25 living Israeli hostages and eight bodies were exchanged for about 1,800 Palestinians in Israeli custody.
The truce also allowed in much-needed food, shelter and medical assistance.
Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, most of them civilians, while Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed at least 48,467 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to data from both sides.


Israel attacks Yemen’s Hodeidah after evacuation warnings, Houthis say

A charred tank truck stands at an oil storage facility after Israeli strikes in Yemen’s Houthi-held port city of Hodeidah.
A charred tank truck stands at an oil storage facility after Israeli strikes in Yemen’s Houthi-held port city of Hodeidah.
Updated 11 May 2025
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Israel attacks Yemen’s Hodeidah after evacuation warnings, Houthis say

A charred tank truck stands at an oil storage facility after Israeli strikes in Yemen’s Houthi-held port city of Hodeidah.
  • Strikes came shortly after Israel warned residents of Ras Isa, Hodeidah and Salif to leave, saying the ports were being used by the Iranian-backed Houthis

HODEIDAH: Israel attacked Hodeidah in Yemen after the Israeli army said it had warned residents of three ports under Houthi control to evacuate, the Houthi interior ministry said on Sunday.
The strikes came shortly after Israel warned residents of Ras Isa, Hodeidah and Salif to leave, saying the ports were being used by the Iranian-backed Houthis.
There was no immediate comment on the attack from Israel.
The strikes came a few days after a missile launched toward Israel by the Houthis was intercepted.
The attack came ahead of US President Donald Trump’s visit to the Middle East this week.
Trump, who had launched an intensified military campaign against Houthi strongholds in Yemen on March 15, agreed to an Oman-mediated ceasefire deal with the group, who said the accord did not include Israel.
The Houthis have been launching missiles and drones at Israel as well as attacking vessels in global shipping lanes, in a campaign that they say is aimed at showing solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
Israel has carried out numerous retaliatory airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen.


Hamas says Edan Alexander, last living US hostage in Gaza, to be released in truce efforts

US-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander has been held by Hamas since the October 7, 2023 attack that triggered the Gaza war. (File/AFP
US-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander has been held by Hamas since the October 7, 2023 attack that triggered the Gaza war. (File/AFP
Updated 11 May 2025
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Hamas says Edan Alexander, last living US hostage in Gaza, to be released in truce efforts

US-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander has been held by Hamas since the October 7, 2023 attack that triggered the Gaza war. (File/AFP
  • Alexander is an Israeli-American soldier who grew up in the United States
  • Trump has frequently mentioned Alexander, now 21, by name in the past few months

GAZA CITY: Hamas says Edan Alexander, the last living American hostage in Gaza, will be released as part of efforts to establish a ceasefire, reopen crossings into the territory and resume the delivery of aid.
The Hamas statement Sunday night does not say when the release will happen.
The announcement comes shortly before US President Donald Trump visits the Middle East this week. Trump is not planning to visit Israel.
Alexander is an Israeli-American soldier who grew up in the United States. He was abducted from his base during the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack that ignited the war in Gaza.
Khalil Al-Hayyah, a Hamas leader in Gaza, said the group has been in contact with the US administration over the past few days.
He said in a statement Hamas is ready to “immediately start intensive negotiations” to reach a final deal for a long-term truce which includes an end to the war, the exchange of Palestinian prisoners and hostages in Gaza and the handing over of power in Gaza to an independent body of technocrats.
Alexander’s parents did not immediately return requests for comment, and there was no immediate response from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Trump has frequently mentioned Alexander, now 21, by name in the past few months.
“Every time they say Edan’s name, it’s like they didn’t forget. They didn’t forget he’s American, and they’re working on it,” Edan’s mother, Yael Alexander, told The Associated Press in February.
Bombardment continues
Israeli strikes overnight and into Sunday killed 15 people in the Gaza Strip, mostly women and children, according to local health officials.
Two of the strikes hit tents in the southern city of Khan Younis, each killing two children and their parents, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies. Another seven people were killed in strikes elsewhere, including a man and his child in a Gaza City neighborhood, according to hospitals and Gaza’s Health Ministry.
The Israeli military says it only targets militants and tries to avoid harming civilians. It blames Hamas for civilian deaths in the 19-month-old war because the militants are embedded in densely populated areas. There was no immediate Israeli comment on the latest strikes.
Israel has sealed Gaza off from all imports, including food, medicine and emergency shelter, for over 10 weeks in what it says is a pressure tactic aimed at forcing Hamas to release hostages. Israel resumed its offensive in March, shattering a ceasefire that had facilitated the release of more than 30 hostages.
The UN and aid groups say food and other supplies are running low and hunger is widespread.
Children carrying empty bottles raced after a water tanker in a devastated area of northern Gaza on Sunday. Residents of the built-up Shati refugee camp said the water was brought by a charity from elsewhere in Gaza. Without it, they rely on wells that are salty and often polluted.
“I am forced to drink salty water, I have no choice,” said Mahmoud Radwan. “This causes intestinal disease, and there’s no medicine to treat it.”
COGAT, the Israeli military body in charge of Palestinian civilian affairs, says enough aid entered during a two-month ceasefire this year and that two of the three main water lines from Israel are still functioning. Aid groups say the humanitarian crisis is worse than at any time in the 19-month war.


Qatar delivers more than 60,000 tonnes of fuel to Lebanese army

Qatar delivers more than 60,000 tonnes of fuel to Lebanese army
Updated 11 May 2025
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Qatar delivers more than 60,000 tonnes of fuel to Lebanese army

Qatar delivers more than 60,000 tonnes of fuel to Lebanese army
  • Delivery is third and final shipment of fuel for 25
  • Qatar’s actions indicate its support for the Lebanese people

LONDON: Qatar dispatched more than 60,000 tonnes of fuel to Lebanon on Sunday as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen the country’s security capabilities.

The Qatar Fund for Development delivered the third and final fuel shipment for 2025, which comprised 62,000 tonnes of fuel, to the northern Lebanese port of Tripoli.

The fund stated that the shipment is intended to strengthen the Lebanese army’s operational capabilities and contribute to Lebanon's security and stability, the Qatar News Agency reported.

The delivery is a sign of Qatar’s support for the Lebanese people, as well as a contribution to prosperity and stability in the country, the QNA added.


Palestinian vice president discusses Gaza, West Bank with Qatar’s prime minister

Palestinian vice president discusses Gaza, West Bank with Qatar’s prime minister
Updated 11 May 2025
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Palestinian vice president discusses Gaza, West Bank with Qatar’s prime minister

Palestinian vice president discusses Gaza, West Bank with Qatar’s prime minister
  • Hussein Al-Sheikh calls for Palestinian Authority to take on civil, security responsibilities in Gaza
  • Qatari official briefed on latest developments in West Bank

LONDON: Hussein Al-Sheikh, the vice president of Palestine, has discussed in Doha the latest developments in the Gaza Strip and West Bank with Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani.

Al-Sheikh spoke of the Palestinian stance on Gaza, calling for the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the enclave to allow the Palestinian Authority to take on civil and security responsibilities, the Palestine News Agency reported.

The officials looked at the preparations for the upcoming Arab League Summit in Baghdad and the anticipated visit of US President Donald Trump to the region this week.

Al-Sheikh also briefed the Qatari official on the latest developments in the West Bank, highlighting the urgent need for a ceasefire and the immediate delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Qatar’s prime minister reaffirmed his country’s strong support for the Palestinian cause, emphasizing the importance of international law and the establishment of a Palestinian state, the WAFA Agency added.

Al-Sheikh was appointed vice president by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas after being selected as the deputy chairman of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization in April.

He met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan in Jeddah last week during his first regional visit following his appointment.


UK maritime agency reports incident northwest of UAE port

UK maritime agency reports incident northwest of UAE port
Updated 11 May 2025
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UK maritime agency reports incident northwest of UAE port

UK maritime agency reports incident northwest of UAE port

CAIRO: The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on Sunday it received a report of an incident 80 nautical miles off the United Arab Emirates’ Jebel Ali port.
UKMTO said a vessel in the area reported a small craft colliding with it and was seen attempting to collide with other vessels in the area, adding that all crew were safe.