By Al Jazeera Apps Support
Israel and Hamas are set to hold indirect talks in Qatar for a second day, aimed at securing a ceasefire and a captive deal in Gaza, ahead of a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and United States President Donald Trump in Washington, DC.
The latest round of negotiations on the war in Gaza began on Sunday in Doha, aiming to broker a deal on a truce and the release of captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. The US president has said a deal could be reached this week.
Before departing for the US on Sunday, Netanyahu said Israeli negotiators were given clear instructions to achieve a ceasefire under conditions that Israel has accepted.
鈥淲e鈥檝e gotten a lot of the hostages out, but pertaining to the remaining hostages, quite a few of them will be coming out,鈥 he told journalists, adding that his meeting with Trump could 鈥渄efinitely help advance this鈥 deal.
Of the 251 captives taken by Palestinian fighters during the October 2023 attack, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 people the Israeli military says are dead.
Netanyahu had previously said Hamas鈥檚 response to a draft US-backed ceasefire proposal, conveyed through Qatari and Egyptian mediators, contained 鈥渦nacceptable鈥 demands.
Al Jazeera鈥檚 Nour Odeh, reporting from Jordan because Israel has banned the network from reporting in Israel and the occupied West Bank, said Netanyahu 鈥渃annot seem to be going against Trump鈥檚 wishes鈥, adding that the Trump-Netanyahu meeting is being set up as a 鈥渧ery important meeting鈥 for Israel鈥檚 regional agenda, not just on Gaza.
鈥淭here are disagreements within the Israeli cabinet that it will find difficult to adopt, especially on the issues of redeployment and food aid distribution,鈥 she said, stressing that Netanyahu is under pressure both from Trump and his coalition back home.
Trump is expected to meet the Israeli leader around 6:30pm local time (22:30 GMT) on Monday, the White House said, without the usual presence of journalists.
The truce talks have been revived following last month鈥檚 12-day Israeli and US air strikes on Iran.
Ending war the sticking point
The US-backed proposal for a 60-day ceasefire envisages a phased release of captives, Israeli troop withdrawals from parts of Gaza and discussions on ending the war entirely.
Concluding the war has been the main sticking point in past rounds of talks, with Hamas demanding a full end to the conflict in return for releasing all captives, and Israel insisting it would fight on until Hamas is dismantled.
Some of Netanyahu鈥檚 hardline coalition partners oppose ending the fighting. But, with Israelis having become increasingly weary of the 21-month-old war, his government is expected to back a ceasefire.
Since Hamas鈥檚 October 2023 attack and the subsequent Israeli offensive in Gaza, mediators have brokered two temporary halts in the fighting. They have seen captives freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody.
Recent efforts to broker a new truce have repeatedly failed, with the primary point of contention being Israel鈥檚 rejection of Hamas鈥檚 demand for a lasting ceasefire.
Israel鈥檚 genocidal campaign in Gaza has killed more than 57,500 Palestinians, according to Gaza鈥檚 health authorities, led to a hunger crisis, displaced nearly all the population, and left most of the besieged territory in ruins.