Difficulties in 'co-ordination' with Israel's Netanyahu delay Doha talks, sources say

Officials from the US, Israel, Egypt and Qatar were set to discuss a ceasefire deal on Thursday

US House Speaker Mike Johnson meets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the day of Netanyahu’s address to Congress. Reuters

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Difficulties in “co-ordinating” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have led to the postponement of Gaza ceasefire talks until next week, a source in Doha told The National on Thursday.

Talks were scheduled today in the Qatari capital between warring parties and included officials from Egypt and the US, as well as Qatar and Israel.

The postponement was “due to difficulties in co-ordinating with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and his pending meeting with President Joe Biden” in Washington, said the source, who is involved in the negotiations in Doha.

“The Israeli negotiation team faced challenges in reaching an agreement on several elements with Mr Netanyahu and to schedule a meeting, leading to the delay of their departure until early next week.”

Mr Netanyahu is visiting Washington where he made a speech to Congress on Wednesday as protesters gathered outside his hotel and marched towards the Capitol, demanding an end to US aid to Israel.

He was due to meet the US President on Thursday.

Mr Netanyahu had been criticised by the families of hostages captured by Hamas on October 7 for initially delaying his delegation's departure to Doha from Wednesday until Thursday.

On Wednesday, US State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller said Secretary of State Antony Blinken had discussed the talks with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.

They "discussed the remaining issues on the table and practical solutions to bridge the differences between the parties", Mr Miller said.

"The secretary reiterated that the US continues to see a deal as critical to bringing the hostages home and alleviating the suffering of the Palestinian people."

Einav Zangauker, who is the mother of one of the hostages, said Mr Netanyahu is "preventing the implementation of the deal for personal reasons", adding that he will "continue stalling" during his visit to the US.

Released detainees

Israel released on Thursday seven Palestinian detainees, including two women arrested by the Israeli army in October.

The detainees were released at the Kissufim checkpoint and were met by members of the Palestinian Red Crescent before being taken to hospital in Deir Al Balah, the Wafa news agency reported.

One of the detainees, Mohammed Al Louh, said he spent 30 days in Israeli prisons, where he was subjected to "severe torture, continuous beatings and electric shocks".

Detainees are blindfolded and handcuffed round the clock and kept in overcrowded rooms, he added.

Mohammed Abu Shaar, another detainee, also said he was abused, describing beatings, electrocutions and sleep deprivation.

Israeli forces have been accused of torture and other human rights abuse of Palestinians held at various detention centres.

More than 4,000 Palestinians have been arrested in Gaza since October 7, according to the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club.

This is in addition to 9,800 arrested in the occupied West Bank, including 680 children, 340 women, and hundreds of workers from Gaza.

At least 16 detainees have died in Israeli prisons since October, the authorities said in a report shared by the official Wafa news agency on Thursday.

Their bodies have not been released.

The army also said it had retrieved the bodies of five Israelis killed on October 7, including two hostages.

The bodies, found in black bags in Khan Younis, were identified through Shin Bet intelligence, the army and the agency said in a joint statement.

Three soldiers were among the dead, who were killed in Israel and taken across the border into Gaza.

A soldier who filmed and uploaded a video of the bodies during the operation is expected to face military prison, Israel's Kan public broadcaster reported on Thursday.

Khan Younis, which is situated in the south of the Gaza Strip, has been the focus of a new Israeli military offensive.

Israeli shelling on Khan Younis killed seven Palestinians and wounded several more on Thursday, according to the official Wafa news agency.

Three others were killed and several wounded in a strike on Bani Suhaila, east of the city.

More than 150,000 people have fled eastern parts of the city after an Israeli evacuation order earlier this week, the UN said.

Air strikes hit eastern neighbourhoods just minutes after the order was issued, killing almost 100 people, according to the health ministry.