Progress reported in Qatar-hosted Gaza cease-fire talks

Israeli media reported progress on Thursday in Qatar-hosted talks for a Gaza cease-fire and prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas.

“There is progress in talks to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas,” Maariv newspaper said, citing well-placed sources involved in the negotiations.

“Negotiators are trying to bridge gaps on important issues that have not yet been agreed on," the sources said.

On Wednesday, a four-party meeting was held in Doha between Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, CIA Director William Burns, Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel and Israeli Mossad chief David Barnea.

Israeli Channel 12 said the Israeli delegation left Doha and returned to Israel for consultations with the Israeli leadership.

For months, efforts by the US, Qatar and Egypt to mediate an agreement between Israel and Hamas for a hostage exchange and cease-fire have been hampered by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's rejection of Hamas' call to halt hostilities.

Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas.

Nearly 38,300 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 88,200 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Nine months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.