Israel to send delegation to Qatar for Gaza ceasefire talks

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Palestinians inspect the damage after an Israeli strike in the Al-Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip on July 4.

PHOTO: AFP

Israel will send a delegation to Qatar on July 6 for talks on a possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, although Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the changes requested by Hamas to a ceasefire proposal were unacceptable.

Palestinian group Hamas said on July 4 it had

responded to a US-backed Gaza ceasefire proposal

But in a sign of the potential challenges still facing the two sides, a Palestinian official from a militant group allied with Hamas said concerns remained over humanitarian aid, passage through the Rafah crossing in southern Israel to Egypt and clarity over a timetable for Israeli troop withdrawals.

“The changes that Hamas seeks to make to the Qatari proposal were conveyed to us last night and are not acceptable to Israel,” Mr Netanyahu’s office said in a statement late on July 5.

The prime minister’s office added that the delegation will still fly to Qatar for talks over a possible deal to “continue the efforts to secure the return of our hostages based on the Qatari proposal that Israel agreed to.”

Mr Netanyahu, who is due to meet Mr Trump in Washington on July 7, has repeatedly said Hamas must be disarmed, a position the militant group, which is thought to