US, Turkey and Qatar join Hamas and Israeli negotiators for third day of Gaza ceasefire talks
Delegates from the United States and Turkey as well as Qatar’s prime minister will join Hamas and Israeli negotiators on Wednesday for a third day of talks aimed at ending the Gaza war.
Israel and Hamas are holding indirect negotiations in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh, based on a 20-point plan proposed by Donald Trump.
Qatar’s prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Turkey’s intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin, Trump’s special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner are all due to attend the talks, Agence France-Presse reports (AFP).
“There’s a real chance that we could do something,” the US president told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday. Trump added:
I think there’s a possibility that we could have peace in the Middle East. It’s something even beyond the Gaza situation. We want a release of the hostages immediately.
The talks came as Israel commemorated the second anniversary of Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack that triggered the war. It resulted in the deaths of more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Militants also took 251 people hostage into Gaza, of whom 47 remain captive, including 25 the Israeli military says are dead.
People attend a ceremony to mark the two-year anniversary of Hamas’s deadly 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, in Tel Aviv on Tuesday. Photograph: Shir Torem/Reuters
Global pressure to end the war has escalated, with much of Gaza flattened, a UN-declared famine unfolding and Israeli hostage families still longing for their loved ones’ return. A UN commission announced last month that it had found Israel to be committing genocide in Gaza.
According to the UN about 90 percent of the population in Gaza have been displaced since the start of the conflict. Photograph: Mohammed Saber/EPA
We will post updates on the talks aimed at ending the Gaza war as they come in. But first, here are some other developments:
Israelis gathered across the country on Tuesday to mark the second anniversary of the Hamas-led 7 October attack. Unofficial commemorations were held in the small kibbutzim of southern Israel whose members were killed or kidnapped, and a large rally was held in Tel Aviv to call for the release of the remaining hostages from Hamas captivity in Gaza.
A new Gaza-bound aid flotilla has been intercepted by the Israeli army, days after the detention of activists on board vessels bound for the war-torn territory caused international outrage and widespread protests. The Israeli military was jamming signals with at least two boats being boarded, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition said on Instagram.
Israeli forces have arrested at least 35 people in the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and elsewhere since Monday, according to a group representing Palestinian prisoners. The Israeli military did not immediately confirm the arrests but said “regular counter-terrorism activity” was under way.
Israel has repeatedly denied permission to transfer incubators from an evacuated hospital in northern Gaza, a UN children’s agency official said on Tuesday, adding to strain on overcrowded hospitals farther south where newborn babies are now sharing oxygen masks.
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Hamas official says hostage and prisoner lists exchanged with Israel
Senior Hamas official Taher al-Nounou said on Wednesday that negotiators from his group and Israel have exchanged lists of prisoners and hostages who would be released should a deal be reached during the ongoing Gaza ceasefire talks in Egypt.
According to Reuters, al-Nounou also said Hamas expressed optimism about reaching a deal, stating that the group has demonstrated the necessary positivity.
SharePhilippines says crew member of Dutch ship has died after Houthi attack
A Filipino crew member of a Dutch cargo ship has died from injuries sustained in an attack by Houthi rebels in the Gulf of Aden last week, the Philippine government said on Wednesday.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels have claimed responsibility for the 29 September attack in the busy shipping lane on the MV Minervagracht, causing a fire and injuring two people.
The second casualty, also a Filipino, is recovering from injuries sustained in the attack, while 10 other Filipino crew members were repatriated to Manila at the weekend, the Philippine Department of Migrant Workers said, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Philippine officials are on their way to Djibouti, along with the dead sailor’s sister and wife, to meet the shipowner and arrange for the repatriation of his remains, migrant workers minister Hans Cacdac said in a post on social media platform X on Wednesday.
The Houthis have said their attacks on commercial shipping are in support of Palestinians during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
Lucy Campbell
The New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday evening attended a vigil in Manhattan convened by Israelis for Peace, an anti-occupation group of Israelis in New York who have rallied weekly since 2023 to call for a ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages.
Sitting in Union Square alongside New York City comptroller Brad Lander, his one-time rival for the Democratic nomination who has been campaigning for him, Mamdani listened as speakers at the event – which marked the two-year anniversary of the 7 October Hamas attacks on Israel – called for an end to the killing and to Israel’s occupation, and for equal rights for Palestinians.
Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City Zohran Mamdani speaks at a press conference in Bronx, New York, on 1 October. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
Earlier in the day, Mamdani drew ire from Israel over his statement on the anniversary in which he commemorated both the Israeli victims from that day and Palestinian victims from Israel’s ensuing war on Gaza.
Mamdani said in the statement on Tuesday:
Two years ago today, Hamas carried out a horrific war crime, killing more than 1,100 Israelis and kidnapping 250 more. I mourn these lives and pray for the safe return of every hostage still held and for every family whose lives were torn apart by these atrocities.
He denounced Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his government for launching a “genocidal war” in Gaza as well. He also accused the US government of being “complicit”.
Mamdani wrote:
A death toll that now far exceeds 67,000; with the Israeli military bombing homes, hospitals, and schools into rubble.
Every day in Gaza has become a place where grief itself has run out of language. I mourn these lives and pray for the families that have been shattered.
He said the last two years had “demonstrated the very worst of humanity” and called for an end to Israeli “occupation and apartheid”.
Mamdani’s statement prompted a sharp rebuke from the Israeli foreign ministry on X, accusing him of “acting as a mouthpiece for Hamas propaganda” and “spreading Hamas’s fake genocide campaign”.
ShareIsrael intercepts another Gaza aid flotilla amid criticism over treatment of activists
A new Gaza-bound aid flotilla has been intercepted by the Israeli army, days after the detention of activists on board vessels bound for the war-torn territory caused international outrage and widespread protests.
The Israeli military was jamming signals with at least two boats being boarded, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) said on Instagram.
“The Israeli military has no legal jurisdiction over international waters,” it added. “Our flotilla poses no harm.”
“Three vessels – Gaza Sunbirds, Alaa Al-Najjar, and Anas Al-Sharif – have been attacked and illegally intercepted by the Israeli military” early morning, 220km off the coast of Gaza, organisers said on X.
It said another ship, the Conscience was also “under attack”.
The Israeli foreign ministry confirmed it had intercepted boats attempting to reach Gaza and that those on board would be transferred to an Israeli port where they would be deported.
“Another futile attempt to breach the legal naval blockade and enter a combat zone ended in nothing,” the ministry said in a post online.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition is an international network of pro-Palestinian activist groups that organises civilian maritime missions aimed at breaking Israel’s blockade of Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid to Palestinians there.
The ships carried aid worth more than $110,000 in medicines, respiratory equipment and nutritional supplies intended for Gaza’s starving hospitals, the FFC said.
The incident was the second such event in recent days, after Israel intercepted about 40 vessels and detained more than 450 activists in an aid convoy, the Global Sumud Flotilla, that was also attempting to deliver supplies to Gaza.
ShareUS, Turkey and Qatar join Hamas and Israeli negotiators for third day of Gaza ceasefire talks
Delegates from the United States and Turkey as well as Qatar’s prime minister will join Hamas and Israeli negotiators on Wednesday for a third day of talks aimed at ending the Gaza war.
Israel and Hamas are holding indirect negotiations in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh, based on a 20-point plan proposed by Donald Trump.
Qatar’s prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Turkey’s intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin, Trump’s special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner are all due to attend the talks, Agence France-Presse reports (AFP).
“There’s a real chance that we could do something,” the US president told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday. Trump added:
I think there’s a possibility that we could have peace in the Middle East. It’s something even beyond the Gaza situation. We want a release of the hostages immediately.
The talks came as Israel commemorated the second anniversary of Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack that triggered the war. It resulted in the deaths of more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Militants also took 251 people hostage into Gaza, of whom 47 remain captive, including 25 the Israeli military says are dead.
People attend a ceremony to mark the two-year anniversary of Hamas’s deadly 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, in Tel Aviv on Tuesday. Photograph: Shir Torem/Reuters
Global pressure to end the war has escalated, with much of Gaza flattened, a UN-declared famine unfolding and Israeli hostage families still longing for their loved ones’ return. A UN commission announced last month that it had found Israel to be committing genocide in Gaza.
According to the UN about 90 percent of the population in Gaza have been displaced since the start of the conflict. Photograph: Mohammed Saber/EPA
We will post updates on the talks aimed at ending the Gaza war as they come in. But first, here are some other developments:
Israelis gathered across the country on Tuesday to mark the second anniversary of the Hamas-led 7 October attack. Unofficial commemorations were held in the small kibbutzim of southern Israel whose members were killed or kidnapped, and a large rally was held in Tel Aviv to call for the release of the remaining hostages from Hamas captivity in Gaza.
A new Gaza-bound aid flotilla has been intercepted by the Israeli army, days after the detention of activists on board vessels bound for the war-torn territory caused international outrage and widespread protests. The Israeli military was jamming signals with at least two boats being boarded, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition said on Instagram.
Israeli forces have arrested at least 35 people in the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and elsewhere since Monday, according to a group representing Palestinian prisoners. The Israeli military did not immediately confirm the arrests but said “regular counter-terrorism activity” was under way.
Israel has repeatedly denied permission to transfer incubators from an evacuated hospital in northern Gaza, a UN children’s agency official said on Tuesday, adding to strain on overcrowded hospitals farther south where newborn babies are now sharing oxygen masks.