Gaza ceasefire, hostage talks resume in Qatar as Israeli airstrikes kill dozens

NEWS WIRES

4 January 2025 at 10:29 am·1-min read

Israel has confirmed the resumption of indirect talks with Hamas in Qatar aimed at securing a ceasefire and hostage release deal for Gaza, where health officials say Israeli strikes killed more than 80 people over the past 24 hours.

Israel confirmed on Saturday that negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal had resumed in Qatar, as health officials in the devastated Palestinian enclave said 88 people had been killed in continuing bombardment of the territory.

The civil defence agency said a dawn air strike on the home of the al-Ghoula family in Gaza City killed 11 people, seven of them children.

AFP images from the neighbourhood of Shujaiya showed residents combing through smoking rubble. Bodies including those of small children were lined up on the ground, shrouded in white sheets.

As the violence raged, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz confirmed that indirect negotiations with Hamas had resumed in Qatar for the release of hostages seized in the October 2023 attacks.

The minister told relatives of one of the hostages, woman soldier Liri Albag, that "efforts are under way to free the hostages, notably the Israeli delegation which left yesterday (Friday) for negotiations in Qatar", his office said.

Katz said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had given "detailed instructions for the continued negotiations".

(AFP)

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