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Turkish intelligence chief discusses Gaza ceasefire with Hamas officials

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Ankara, Jan 14: Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin held talks with Hamas’ political bureau officials regarding ongoing efforts for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, Turkey’s semi-official Anadolu Agency reported.

Kalin held phone talks with Hamas representatives, reviewing the progress and current status of the ongoing Gaza ceasefire negotiations.

Both parties reportedly agreed on the importance of continuing diplomatic efforts to achieve a ceasefire.

Indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel in Qatar’s Doha have made progress toward a ceasefire agreement, Palestinian and Israeli officials confirmed on Monday.

Hamas delivered a “positive” response to a draft of the Gaza ceasefire agreement offered by mediators in the Qatari capital Doha, a senior Hamas official said.

An official familiar with the negotiation process in Doha, who wished to remain anonymous, said, “Hamas did not express any objection to the draft, hoping that a ceasefire will be reached as soon as possible to end the suffering of the Palestinian people in the coastal enclave.”

“Currently, we are waiting for the final Israeli response,” he added.

Earlier on Monday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar confirmed that “progress” had been made in the talks held in Qatar, and Israel “is working hard to reach a deal.”

Indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas resumed in Qatar on January 3, according to Hamas, days after Egypt hosted delegations from the movement and Israel with the aim of reaching a truce agreement in Gaza.

Over the past months, the efforts by mediators from Egypt, Qatar, and the US have failed to reach a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas since the first truce, which lasted a week between November and December 2023.

Hamas militants stormed southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 others as hostages. Of these, 98 remain in captivity in Gaza, with at least a third believed to have died.

Israel’s military campaign in response has caused widespread devastation in Gaza. Hamas-run health authorities reported on Monday that Israeli strikes had killed at least 46,584 people in Gaza.

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Netanyahu says Israeli team to travel to Cairo for Gaza ceasefire talks

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Jerusalem, Feb 17: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that a negotiation team will travel to Cairo on Monday to discuss the implementation of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

According to a statement released by his office, Netanyahu said he spoke by phone with US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, after which he instructed an Israeli negotiation team to depart for Cairo on Monday.

The team will first discuss the “continuation of the implementation of Phase One of the deal,” and will “receive instructions on continuing negotiations regarding the second phase” after a meeting of the Israeli Security Cabinet scheduled for Monday, the statement said.

Meanwhile, in an interview with Fox News on Sunday, Witkoff said talks about the second phase have already begun and will continue this week “at a location to be determined so that we can figure out how we get to the end of Phase Two successfully.”

On Saturday, Hamas and Israel completed the sixth prisoner-for-hostage exchange following days of tense negotiations that threatened to undo the precarious ceasefire.

In the exchange, Hamas released three more Israeli hostages held in Gaza, while Israeli authorities freed 369 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

Under the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, effective since January 19 and spanning six weeks, 33 Israeli hostages are expected to be released in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinians. So far, 19 Israeli hostages, along with five Thais, have been released from Gaza, while Israeli authorities have released over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.

Israel and Hamas were supposed to begin talks on the second phase in early February. Hamas said in a statement on February 4 that it had started discussions with international mediators, whereas a spokesman for Netanyahu said on social media platform X on Tuesday that Israel had not yet begun negotiations on the second phase.

The second phase of the agreement is supposed to focus on the release of the remaining hostages, the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Palestinian enclave, and the implementation of a permanent ceasefire.

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369 Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli jails

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Ramallah, Feb 15: The Israeli authorities on Saturday released 369 Palestinian prisoners and detainees from its jails as part of the sixth batch of prisoner-for-hostage exchanges between Israel and Hamas.

Abdullah al-Zaghari, head of the Palestinian Prisoners Club, told news agency that among the freed prisoners were 36 serving life sentences, and 333 detainees who had been arrested by Israel from the Gaza Strip following the October 7, 2023 attack.

Palestinian sources and eyewitnesses said that the prisoners were received in the courtyard of the Ramallah Cultural Palace in the presence of the Red Cross and their families.

Before the release of the prisoners, eyewitnesses said that Israeli forces stormed the city of Beitunia, west of Ramallah, to prevent Palestinians from assembling near the gate of Ofer prison, where the prisoners were being freed.

Earlier on Saturday, the Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad released three Israeli hostages held in Gaza. The Israeli authorities have confirmed their arrival in Israel.

The freed hostages — Alexandre Sasha Troufanov, a 29-year-old Israeli-Russian citizen; Sagui Dekel-Chen, a 36-year-old Israeli-American citizen; and Iair Horn, a 46-year-old Israeli-Argentine citizen — were kidnapped in the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

Troufanov was kidnapped along with his mother, grandmother, and partner, and the three women were released in a previous hostage deal in November 2023. His father was killed on the day of the kidnapping.

Dekel-Chen, a father of three, had a daughter born after his abduction. Horn’s brother, Eitan, remains in captivity in Gaza.

“Thanks to the concentration of our forces in and around the Gaza Strip, and thanks to the clear and unequivocal statement of US President Donald Trump, Hamas has withdrawn and the release of the hostages continues,” said a statement from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Trump warned on Monday that if “all of the hostages” in Gaza were not freed by noon on Saturday, the truce would be called off, and he would “let hell break out.”

Under the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, effective since January 19 and spanning six weeks, 33 Israeli hostages are expected to be released in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinians. So far, 19 Israeli hostages, along with five Thais, have been released.

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International News

Three Israeli hostages released in Gaza arrive in Israel

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Jerusalem, Feb 15: Three Israeli hostages previously held by the Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad were transferred to Israeli authorities and crossed the border into Israel on Saturday as part of an ongoing ceasefire exchange, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) announced.

The freed hostages — Alexandre Sasha Troufanov, a 29-year-old Israeli-Russian citizen; Sagui Dekel-Chen, a 36-year-old Israeli-American citizen; and Iair Horn, a 46-year-old Israeli-Argentine citizen — were kidnapped in the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

Troufanov was kidnapped along with his mother, grandmother, and partner, and the three women were released in a previous hostage deal in November 2023. His father was killed on the day of the kidnapping.

Dekel-Chen, a father of three, had a daughter born after his abduction. Horn’s brother, Eitan, remains in captivity in Gaza.

“Thanks to the concentration of our forces in and around the Gaza Strip, and thanks to the clear and unequivocal statement of U.S. President Donald Trump, Hamas has withdrawn and the release of the hostages continues,” said a statement from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Trump warned on Monday that if “all of the hostages” in Gaza were not freed by noon on Saturday, the truce would be called off, and he would “let hell break out.”

Hamas had initially intended to delay the scheduled hostage release, citing Israeli violations of the agreement. However, by Thursday, the group confirmed it would proceed with the swap of Palestinian prisoners for Israeli hostages.

The three were the sixth group of hostages freed as part of a swap deal between Palestinian militants and Israel under the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, with Israel expected to begin releasing 369 Palestinian prisoners later on Saturday.

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