Journal De Bruxelles - Trump hosts Netanyahu, hopes for Israel-Hamas deal 'this week'

Indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas began on Sunday evening in Doha, aiming to broker a ceasefire and reach an agreement on the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

Trump said Sunday there was a "good chance" of reaching an agreement.

"We've gotten a lot of the hostages out, but pertaining to the remaining hostages, quite a few of them will be coming out," he told journalists.

Netanyahu, speaking before boarding his flight to Washington on Sunday, said his meeting with Trump could "definitely help advance this" deal.

The US president is pushing for a truce in the Gaza Strip, plunged into a humanitarian crisis after nearly two years of war.

Netanyahu said he dispatched the team to Doha with "clear instructions" to reach an agreement "under the conditions that we have agreed to."

He previously said Hamas's response to a draft US-backed ceasefire proposal, conveyed through Qatari and Egyptian mediators, contained "unacceptable" demands.

- 'Important mission' -

Two Palestinian sources close to the discussions told AFP the proposal included a 60-day truce, during which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and several bodies in exchange for Palestinians detained by Israel.

However, they said, the group was also demanding certain conditions for Israel's withdrawal, guarantees against a resumption of fighting during negotiations, and the return of the UN-led aid distribution system.

Netanyahu has an "important mission" in Washington, "advancing a deal to bring all our hostages home," said Israeli President Isaac Herzog after meeting him Sunday.

Trump is not scheduled to meet the Israeli premier until 6:30 pm (2230 GMT) Monday, the White House said, without the usual presence of journalists.

Of the 251 hostages taken by Palestinian militants during the 2023 attack, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.

Since Hamas's October 2023 attack sparked the massive Israeli offensive in Gaza, mediators have brokered two temporary halts in the fighting. They have seen hostages freed in exchange for some of the thousands of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody.

Recent efforts to broker a new truce have repeatedly failed, with the primary point of contention being Israel's rejection of Hamas's demand for a lasting ceasefire.

- 'Enough blood' -

In Gaza, the territory's civil defense agency reported 26 people killed by Israeli forces on Sunday, 10 of them in a strike in Gaza City's Sheikh Radwan neighborhood.

"We are losing young people, families and children every day, and this must stop now," Sheikh Radwan resident Osama al-Hanawi told AFP.

"Enough blood has been shed."

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defense agency.

Contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said it could not comment on specific strikes without precise coordinates.

- Hundreds killed seeking aid -

The war has created dire humanitarian conditions for the more than two million people in the Gaza Strip.

A US- and Israel-backed group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), took the lead in food distribution in the territory in late May, when Israel partially lifted a more than two-month blockade on aid deliveries.

But its operations have had a chaotic rollout, with repeated reports of aid seekers killed near its facilities while awaiting rations.

UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the GHF over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.

The UN human rights office said last week that more than 500 people have been killed waiting to access food from GHF distribution points.

The Gaza health ministry on Sunday placed that toll even higher, at 751 killed.

Hamas's October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 57,418 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The United Nations considers the figures reliable.

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K.Laurent--JdB