Hamas says ready to start talks ‘immediately’ on Gaza ceasefire

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Updated 05 July 2025
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Hamas says ready to start talks ‘immediately’ on Gaza ceasefire

Hamas says ready to start talks ‘immediately’ on Gaza ceasefire
  • Announcement came after militant group held consultations with other Palestinian factions
  • Israel meanwhile said Saturday it was still mulling its response to a positive reaction from Hamas

JERUSALEM/GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: Hamas said it was ready to start talks “immediately” on a proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, where the civil defense agency said Israel’s ongoing offensive killed 20 people on Saturday.

The announcement came after it held consultations with other Palestinian factions and before a visit on Monday by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington, where President Donald Trump is pushing for an end to the war, now in its 21st month.

“The movement is ready to engage immediately and seriously in a cycle of negotiations on the mechanism to put in place” the terms of a draft US-backed truce proposal received from mediators, the militant group said in a statement.

Israel meanwhile said Saturday it was still mulling its response to a positive reaction from Hamas to the latest US-sponsored proposal for a Gaza ceasefire.

“No decision has been made yet on that issue,” a government official said on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly about it. Israel’s security cabinet was due to meet later on Saturday, after the end of the Jewish sabbath at sundown, Israeli media reported.

Hamas ally Islamic Jihad said it supported ceasefire talks, but demanded “guarantees” that Israel “will not resume its aggression” once hostages held in Gaza are freed.

Trump, when asked about Hamas’s response aboard Air Force One on Friday, said: “That’s good. They haven’t briefed me on it. We have to get it over with. We have to do something about Gaza.”

The conflict in Gaza began with Hamas’s October 2023 attack, which sparked a massive Israeli offensive aimed at destroying Hamas and bringing home all the hostages seized by Palestinian militants.

On Friday, Netanyahu again pledged to bring home the hostages, after coming under massive domestic pressure over their fate.

Two previous ceasefires mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States have seen temporary halts in fighting, coupled with the return of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

Efforts to broker a new truce have repeatedly failed, with the primary point of contention being Israel’s rejection of Hamas’s demand for guarantees that any new ceasefire will be lasting.

A previous round of talks broke down in May with Hamas and Israel trading blame for its failure.

The Palestinian militant group said it had given a “positive response” to a truce proposal from US special envoy Steve Witkoff, but its request for a guarantee that hostilities would not resume had been rejected by Israel.

A Palestinian source familiar with the negotiations told AFP earlier this week that the latest proposal included “a 60-day truce, during which Hamas would release half of the living Israeli captives in the Gaza Strip” — thought to number 22 — “in exchange for Israel releasing a number of Palestinian prisoners and detainees.”

Out of 251 hostages seized by Palestinian militants during the October 2023 attack, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.

Nearly 21 months of war have created dire humanitarian conditions for the more than two million people in the Gaza Strip, where Israel has recently expanded its military operations.

Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal said Israeli military operations killed 20 people across the war-battered territory on Saturday.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defense agency.

Bassal said five of the dead were killed in a strike on a school in Gaza City.

A second strike near another school in the city where displaced civilians had found shelter killed three people and wounded around 10, including children, he said.

Many Gazans have sought shelter in schools and other public buildings since the war began with Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel.

Contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said it could not comment on specific strikes without precise coordinates.

The civil defense agency said Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least 52 people on Friday.

The Hamas attack of October 2023 resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 57,268 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The United Nations considers the figures reliable.


Armenia, Azerbaijan to meet for peace talks in UAE Thursday

Updated 21 sec ago
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Armenia, Azerbaijan to meet for peace talks in UAE Thursday

Armenia, Azerbaijan to meet for peace talks in UAE Thursday
BAKU: The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan will meet on Thursday in the United Arab Emirates for peace talks, two days after the US expressed hope for a swift deal.
Baku and Yerevan fought two wars over the disputed Karabakh region, which Azerbaijan recaptured from Armenian forces in a lightning offensive in 2023, prompting the exodus of more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians.
The arch foes agreed on the text of a comprehensive peace deal in March, but Baku has since outlined a host of demands — including amendments to Armenia’s constitution to drop its territorial claims for the Karabakh — before signing the document.
On Wednesday, the Armenian government said Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev will meet the following day in the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi, “within the framework of the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan.”
The Azerbaijani presidency issued an identical statement.
The announcement came a day after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed hope for a swift peace deal between the Caucasus neighbors.
Aliyev and Pashinyan last met on the sidelines of the European Political Community summit in Albania in May.

Iraq’s Kurdistan enjoys all-day state electricity

Iraq’s Kurdistan enjoys all-day state electricity
Updated 09 July 2025
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Iraq’s Kurdistan enjoys all-day state electricity

Iraq’s Kurdistan enjoys all-day state electricity
  • The region’s electricity minister, Kamal Mohammed, said residents were now enjoying “uninterrupted, cleaner, and more affordable electricity”

Irbil: More than 30 percent of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region now has 24-hour state electricity, authorities said Thursday, with plans to extend full coverage by the end of 2026.

The northern region of Kurdistan has long promoted itself as a haven of relative stability in an otherwise volatile country.

Despite Iraq’s vast oil wealth, the national grid struggles to meet demand, leaving most areas reliant on imported energy and subject to frequent power cuts.

“Today, two million people across the Kurdistan region enjoy 24-hour electricity... that’s 30 percent of the population,” including the cities of Irbil, Duhok and Sulaimaniyah, said regional prime minister Masrour Barzani.

In 2024, the Kurdistan Regional Government launched “Project Runaki” to deliver round-the-clock power in a region where, like much of Iraq, residents often turn to costly and polluting private generators.

The region’s electricity minister, Kamal Mohammed, said residents were now enjoying “uninterrupted, cleaner, and more affordable electricity.”

“Rollout to other areas is expected to be completed by the end of 2026,” he told AFP.

As part of the transition, roughly 30 percent of the 7,000 private generators operating across Kurdistan have already been decommissioned, he said, a move that has contributed to an estimated annual reduction of nearly 400,000 tons of CO2 emissions.

The project also aims to lower household electricity bills, offering a cheaper alternative to the combined cost of grid power and private generator fees.

However, bills will still depend on consumption and are likely to increase during peak summer and winter months.

Mohammed said the project’s success hinges on the introduction of “smart” meters to curb electricity theft, as well as a new tariff system to promote responsible usage.

“More power has been added to the grid to support 24/7 access,” he said.

Kurdistan has doubled its gas production in the past five years, and most of the power supply comes from local gas production, Mohammed said.

Despite Iraq’s abundant oil and gas reserves, years of conflict have devastated its infrastructure.

The country remains heavily reliant on imports, particularly from neighboring Iran, which frequently interrupts supply. It also imports electricity from Jordan and Turkiye, while seeking to boost its own gas output.

“We stand ready to offer our technical support and assistance” to the federal government, Mohammed said.

In Irbil, resident Bishdar Attar, 38, said the biggest change was the absence of noisy and polluting generators.

“The air is now clear,” he said. “We can now use home appliances freely... as needed.”


40 Palestinians killed in Gaza as Netanyahu and Trump meet over a ceasefire

40 Palestinians killed in Gaza as Netanyahu and Trump meet over a ceasefire
Updated 29 min 18 sec ago
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40 Palestinians killed in Gaza as Netanyahu and Trump meet over a ceasefire

40 Palestinians killed in Gaza as Netanyahu and Trump meet over a ceasefire
  • Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children
  • Many Palestinians are watching the ceasefire negotiations with desperate for an end to the war

DEIR AL-BALAH: At least 40 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, hospital officials said Wednesday, as international mediators raced to complete a ceasefire deal.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had a second meeting in two days with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday evening. Trump has been pushing for a ceasefire that might lead to an end to the 21-month war in Gaza. Israel and Hamas are considering a new US-backed ceasefire proposal that would pause the war, free Israeli hostages and send much-needed aid into Gaza.

Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis said the dead included included 17 women and 10 children. It said one strike killed 10 people from the same family, including three children.

The Israeli military did not comment on specific strikes, but said it had struck more than 100 targets across Gaza over the past day, including militants, booby-trapped structures, weapons storage facilities, missile launchers and tunnels. Israel accuses Hamas of hiding weapons and fighters among civilians.

Struggle to secure food and water

Many Palestinians are watching the ceasefire negotiations with trepidation, desperate for an end to the war.

In the sprawling coastal Muwasi area, where many live in ad-hoc tents after being displaced from their homes, Abeer Al-Najjar said she had struggled during the constant bombardments to secure sufficient food and water for her family. “I pray to God that there would be a pause, and not just a pause where they would lie to us with a month or two, then start doing what they’re doing to us again. We want a full ceasefire.”

Her husband, Ali Al-Najjar, said life has been especially tough in the summer, with no access to drinking water in a crowded tent in the Middle Eastern heat. “We hope this would be the end of our suffering and we can rebuild our country again,” he said, before running through a crowd with two buckets to fill them from a water truck.

People chased the vehicle as it drove away to another location.

Amani Abu-Omar said the water truck comes every four days, not enough for her dehydrated children. She complained of skin rashes in the summer heat. She said she was desperate for a ceasefire but fears she would be let down again. “We had expected ceasefires on many occasions, but it was for nothing,” she said.

The war started after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage. Most of the hostages have been released in earlier ceasefires. Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

The UN and other international organizations see its figures as the most reliable statistics on war casualties.

Netanyahu and Trump meet again

Netanyahu told reporters in the Capitol on Tuesday that he and Trump see “eye to eye” on the need to destroy Hamas. He added that the cooperation and coordination between Israel and the US is currently the best it has ever been during Israel’s 77-year-history.

Later this week, Trump’s Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, is expected to head to the Qatari capital of Doha to continue indirect negotiations with Hamas on the ceasefire proposal.

Witkoff said late Tuesday that three key areas of disagreement had been resolved, but that one key issue still remained. He did not elaborate.

After the second meeting, Netanyahu said he and Trump also discussed the “great victory” over Iran from Israeli and American strikes during the 12-day war that ended two weeks ago.

“Opportunities have been opened here for expanding the circle of peace, for expanding the Abraham Accords,” said Netanyahu, referring to normalization agreements between Israel and multiple Arab nations that were brokered by Trump in his first term. Washington has been pushing for normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel.


Greek ship sinks off Yemen after Houthi attack, crew being rescued, sources say

Greek ship sinks off Yemen after Houthi attack, crew being rescued, sources say
Updated 09 July 2025
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Greek ship sinks off Yemen after Houthi attack, crew being rescued, sources say

Greek ship sinks off Yemen after Houthi attack, crew being rescued, sources say
  • Some of the crew were in lifejackets in the water and at least five people have been rescued so far

ATHENS: The Liberia-flagged, Greek-operated bulk carrier Eternity C has sunk after a Houthi attack off Yemen, four maritime security sources told Reuters on Wednesday, and efforts to rescue the crew were under way.

Some of the crew were in lifejackets in the water and at least five people have been rescued so far, two of the sources said.


Jailed PKK leader Ocalan says armed struggle with Turkiye over

Jailed PKK leader Ocalan says armed struggle with Turkiye over
Updated 09 July 2025
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Jailed PKK leader Ocalan says armed struggle with Turkiye over

Jailed PKK leader Ocalan says armed struggle with Turkiye over
  • Ocalan urged Turkiye’s parliament to set up a commission to oversee disarmament and manage a broader peace process

Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), appeared in a rare online video on Wednesday to say the group’s armed struggle against Turkiye has ended, and he called for a full shift to democratic politics.

In the recording, dated June and released by Firat News Agency, which is close to the PKK, Ocalan urged Turkiye’s parliament to set up a commission to oversee disarmament and manage a broader peace process.

The PKK, which has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state for 40 years and is labelled a terrorist organization by Turkiye, the United States and the EU, decided in May to disband after an initial written appeal from Ocalan in February.

“The phase of armed struggle has ended. This is not a loss, but a historic gain,” he said in the video, the first time since he was jailed in 1999 that either footage of him or a recording of his voice has been released.

“The armed struggle stage must now be voluntarily replaced by a phase of democratic politics and law.”

Ocalan, seated in a beige polo shirt with a glass of water on the table in front of him, appeared to read from a transcript in the seven-minute video. He was surrounded by six other jailed PKK members all looking straight at the camera.

He said the PKK had ended its separatist agenda.

“The main objective has been achieved – existence has been acknowledged,” he said. “What remains would be excessive repetition and a dead end.”

Ocalan added that Turkiye’s pro-Kurdish DEM Party, the third largest in parliament in Ankara, should work alongside other political parties.