Middle East updates: Gaza truce talks in Cairo end

The latest negotiations on a proposed hostage deal and a cease-fire in Gaza have ended without an immediate breakthrough, according to reports.

The Palestinian militant group Hamas said Sunday the latest round of talks in Cairo had finished after "in-depth and serious discussions."

Egyptian state media reported that the Hamas delegation would return to the Egyptian capital for talks on Tuesday.

The report said Hamas representatives would travel late Sunday to Doha, where Hamas has a political office, to consult with their chiefs. Hamas is classified as a terrorist organization by many countries including Germany, Israel and the US.

Israel, which did not send delegates to the talks, earlier said it would only send its representatives when there was a "positive moment" to do so.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he would be willing to agree to a pause in fighting to allow hostages to be released.

"But while Israel has shown willingness, Hamas remains entrenched in its extreme positions, first among them the demand
to remove all our forces from the Gaza Strip, end the war, and leave Hamas in power," Netanyahu said. "Israel cannot accept that." 

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant added: "We see signs that Hamas does not intend to go to any agreement."

Meanwhile, CIA Director Bill Burns is expected in Doha for emergency discussions on the truce effort with Qatar's prime minister, according to an official cited by news agencies on Sunday. 

Burns has acted as a key interlocutor for the US in talks between Israel, Hamas, Egypt and Qatar over securing a deal.

French President Emmanuel Macron has appealed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to continue negotiations to secure the release of hostages held in Gaza.

The two leaders spoke in a phone call on Sunday.

"The president encouraged Prime Minister Netanyahu to successfully complete these negotiations which could lead to the release of hostages, the protection of civilians through a cease-fire and regional deescalation," the AFP news agency cited a statement from the French presidency as saying. 

Hamas negotiators met with Egyptian and Qatari mediators in Cairo on Sunday amid growing calls to end the war in Gaza. Israel did not send a delegation to the talks.

It was not clear how much progress was made during the latest round of talks. US media outlets have reported that reaching a deal could take several more days, as Hamas and Israel hammer out the finer details of the truce.

In his call with Netanyahu, Macron also voiced his opposition to a planned Israeli operation in Rafah, where more than a million displaced Palestinians have taken refuge.

Israeli TV satellite and cable providers have suspended Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera from the airwaves.

"In accordance with the government decision, the Al Jazeera station's broadcasts have been stopped in Israel," said a message on Israel's satellite television provider, Yes.

The Israeli government banned Al Jazeera TV on Sunday, after a law passed by the Israeli Knesset last month allowed it to shutter foreign broadcasters considered to pose a security threat amid the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

Israel has opposed Al Jazeera for years, claiming it broadcasts biased coverage of conflicts.

Al Jazeera has condemned the Israel government decision, saying in a statement that, "The Netanyahu government has decided in a highly misleading and calumnious step to endorse the order to shut down Al Jazeera offices in Israel."

"We confirm that we will pursue all avenues at international and legal organizations to protect our rights and crews," it said without elaborating. 

Although Al Jazeera TV was suspended by Israel's main cable provider, its website and multiple online streaming links were still operating.

At least four people have been killed as a result of an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon, Lebanon's state-run NNA news has reported.

The airstrike hit the town of Meiss el Jabal, near the border with Israel, NNA said in the report.

Israel has not commented on the attack.

Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah said it had fired "dozens" of rockets at an Israeli town close to the border in retaliation.

Hezbollah and Israel have traded fire across the Israel-Lebanon border ever since the war in Gaza began in October, but both sides have pulled back from an all-out escalation of hostilities.

More than 300 people in Lebanon, including at least 70 civilians, have been killed as a result of the the cross-border violence since October, according to security sources.

Meanwhile, Israeli sources say around a dozen troops and several civilians have been killed on Israel's side of the border.

The armed wing of Hamas claimed responsibility for firing rockets at the area around the Kerem Shalom border crossing in southern Gaza on Sunday, saying it had been targeting Israeli troops.

In response, Israel said it was closing the crossing which is located close to the border with Egypt and is one of the few left open for essential humanitarian aid.

"Approximately 10 projectile launches were identified crossing from the area adjacent to the Rafah Crossing toward the area of Kerem Shalom," the army said in a statement, adding that the "Kerem Shalom Crossing is currently closed to the passage of humanitarian aid trucks."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reiterated that Israel will not meet demands by Hamas for an end to the war in Gaza in exchange for the freeing of Israeli hostages held by the militant Islamist group.

Netanyahu said Israel would continue to fight until it achieves its war aim, which he has previously said is to "crush and destroy Hamas."

He said a complete cessation of the war would keep the group in power and pose a threat to Israel, but that Israel was ready to pause its offensive to allow the release of hostages.

Negotiations are currently underway in Cairo between Hamas and a group of international mediators to establish a 40-day truce and allow an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinians held prisoner by Israel.

Hamas is considered a terrorist organization by Israel, Germany, the US and several other countries.

The Israeli Cabinet has voted unanimously in favor of closing the offices of the Qatar-owned broadcaster Al Jazeera in Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday.

Announcing the decision on X, formerly Twitter, Netanyahu accused the broadcaster of incitement.

Also on X, Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi said the order would take immediate effect.

According to Israeli media, the order can suspend broadcasting in the country for 45 days.

Ties between Israel and the broadcaster have worsened since Israel launched an offensive against the Islamist militant group Hamas in response to Hamas' deadly attacks in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which some 1,200 people were killed.

Numerous journalists have been killed in Gaza during Israel's military offensive, including several who worked for Al Jazeera.

Qatar is one of the countries mediating in negotiations over a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas, which is considered a terrorist organization by Israel, Germany, the US and several other countries. 

A delegation from the Palestinian militant group Hamas is expected to meet with Qatari, Egyptian and US mediators on Sunday in a bid to strike a deal on a truce in Gaza amid the Israel-Hamas war.

Negotiators have been discussing a proposal for a 40-day pause in fighting and an exchange of hostages held by Hamas for Palestinians held in Israeli jails, according to details made public by Britain.

Israel has so far sent no delegation to the talks in Cairo, with an Israeli official telling the AFP news agency it would do so only if there was "positive movement."

Up to now, both sides have accused each other of blocking a deal.

Hamas has said it will not agree to any truce that does not include a complete end to the war and Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

Israel has refused to guarantee an end to its offensive, launched after Hamas carried out attacks in southern Israel on October 7 in which some 1,200 Israelis were killed and 250 taken hostage. Israel, the United States and Germany are among the countries that have designated Hamas as a terrorist organization.

In November, 105 of the hostages were released in exchange for Palestinians held by Israel during a weeklong cease-fire. Since then,  negotiations have failed to produce any lasting truce.

It is unclear how many of the Israelis remaining in captivity are still alive. 

The Israeli military has said a leader of the militant Islamic Jihad organization who was involved in a deadly raid on Israel on October 7 has been killed in an airstrike in southern Gaza.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Aiman Zaarab was responsible for an attack by the Islamic Jihad Rafah Brigade on the kibbutz of Sufa and a military post during the raid.

The IDF added that "two additional Islamic Jihad terrorists" were killed in the strike alongside Zaarab.

tj/sms (AP, AFP, DPA, Reuters)