INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Israel has decided to send a delegation to Qatar on Sunday for proximity talks with Hamas on the latest proposal for a Gaza ceasefire and
official said the group had sought amendments including a guarantee that hostilities would not resume if talks on a permanent truce
failed.In Gaza itself, the Hamas-run Civil Defence agency said Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least 35 Palestinians on Saturday.Seven
people were killed, including a doctor and his three children, when tents in the al-Mawasi area were bombed, according to a hospital in the
nearby city of Khan Younis.Meanwhile, two American employees of the controversial aid distribution organisation backed by Israel and the US
- the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) - were wounded in what it said was a grenade attack at its site in the Khan Younis area.The Israeli
of the situation, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has directed that the invitation to proximity talks be accepted and that the contacts
for the return of our hostages - on the basis of the Qatari proposal that Israel has agreed to - be continued
the way that Hamas had responded.Mediators are likely to have their work cut out to bridge the remaining gaps at the indirect talks in
Doha.Watching them closely will be US President Donald Trump, who has been talking up the chances of an agreement in recent days.On Friday,
and thousands of their supporters attended a rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday night to call for a comprehensive deal that would bring home all
of the hostages.Among those who spoke was Yechiel Yehoud
His daughter Arbel Yehoud was released from captivity during the last ceasefire, which Trump helped to broker before he took office and
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staggered release of 10 living Israeli hostages by Hamas and the bodies of 18 other hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in
Israeli jails.Fifty hostages are still being held in Gaza, at least 20 of whom are believed to be alive.The proposal also reportedly says
sufficient quantities of aid would enter Gaza immediately with the involvement of the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross.A
senior Palestinian official familiar with the talks told the BBC on Friday that Hamas was demanding aid be distributed exclusively by the UN
according to the official.The US proposal is believed to include phased Israeli pull-outs from parts of Gaza
But the official said Hamas wanted troops to return to the positions they held before the last ceasefire collapsed in March, when Israel
resumed its offensive.The official said Hamas also wanted a US guarantee that Israeli air and ground operations would not resume even if the
ceasefire ended without a permanent truce.The proposal is believed to say mediators will guarantee that serious negotiations will take place
from day one, and that they can extend the ceasefire if necessary.The Israeli prime minister has ruled out ending the war until all of the
their opposition to the proposed deal.National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said on Saturday that the only way to secure the return of
of the Palestinian population.The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the 7 October 2023 attack, in which about
1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.At least 57,338 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the
