Israel-Gaza war: Hamas to skip truce talks but may meet mediators afterwards
- Iranian officials say only a ceasefire deal would hold Iran back from retaliation against Israel for the killing of Hamas leader Haniyeh
Hamas said on Wednesday it would not take part in a new round of Gaza ceasefire talks slated for Thursday in Qatar, but an official briefed on the talks said mediators expected to consult with the Palestinian group afterwards.
The US has said it expects indirect talks to go ahead as planned in Qatar’s capital Doha on Thursday, and that a ceasefire agreement was still possible, while warning that progress was needed urgently to avert a wider war.
However Axios reported that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has postponed a trip to the Middle East that had been expected to begin on Tuesday.
Three senior Iranian officials have said that only a ceasefire deal in Gaza would hold Iran back from direct retaliation against Israel for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on its soil last month.
“Israel will send the negotiations team on the agreed upon date, that’s tomorrow August 15, in order to finalise the details of the implementation of the framework agreement,” Israeli government spokesman David Mencer said in a briefing.
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The delegation includes Israel’s spy chief David Barnea, head of the domestic security service Ronen Bar and the military’s hostages chief Nitzan Alon, a defence official said.