New round of Gaza ceasefire talks kicks off in Qatar

On August 15, a new round of Gaza ceasefire talks kicked off in Doha, aiming to bridge the remaining gaps between Israel and Hamas after months of stalled negotiations.

The talks follow a joint statement issued on August 8 by the leaders of Qatar, Egypt, and the United States, urging the resumption of discussions, Caliber.Az reports, citing Qatari media.

The statement emphasized the need to finalise a deal that would secure the release of captives held by Hamas and establish a comprehensive ceasefire in Gaza, where the conflict has continued for over 10 months.

Officials from Qatar, the US, Egypt, and Israel are participating in the talks, while Hamas will reportedly engage in discussions on the sidelines of the negotiations. Suhail Al-Hindi, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, reiterated the group's commitment to returning to US President Joe Biden’s initial ceasefire plan, which Hamas claims has been obstructed by Israel.

Since October 7, Israel has killed around 40,000 people in the Gaza Strip, mainly women and children, while causing a dire humanitarian catastrophe.

The war also displaced at least 1.9 million people out of the besieged enclave’s population of 2.1 million – down from the UN’s initial estimate of 2.3 million, following the deaths and exodus of people fleeing for safety.