DOHA /GAZA - There is "positive engagement right now" between Hamas and Israel as Qatar is holding separate discussions with delegations of both parties in Doha, spokesperson for the Qatari Foreign Ministry Majed bin Mohammed Al Ansari said Tuesday.
Formal talks have not yet begun, but through the separate discussions, "we hope that we can establish a framework that would be instrumental for the talks to succeed and take less time than they would otherwise," Al Ansari told a media briefing.
There is currently no timeline for the formal talks as the process "will need time," he added.
A new round of indirect talks between Hamas and Israel resumed Sunday in Doha amid international efforts to end the conflict that has devastated Gaza for more than 20 months.
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On Friday, Hamas confirmed it had submitted a "positive" response to mediators regarding an updated ceasefire proposal presented by Qatar and based on an initiative from US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff.
In an official statement, Hamas expressed "serious readiness" to negotiate the implementation of the proposal.
A Palestinian source told Xinhua that Hamas proposed "limited" amendments to the proposal, including calls for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from certain areas of Gaza, restoring UN-led humanitarian aid operations, and ensuring that negotiations will continue beyond the initial 60-day period to reach a permanent ceasefire.
However, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the proposed changes "unacceptable." Nonetheless, Israel agreed to dispatch a team to Doha to participate in the indirect talks.
60 Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks
At least 60 Palestinians, including six freed prisoners and a paramedic, were killed in Israeli airstrikes and gunfire across Gaza on Tuesday, according to Palestinian sources.
Six people were killed by Israeli shelling on two tents housing displaced persons in Khan Younis, southern Gaza and the town of al-Zawaidain, central Gaza, Spokesperson for the Civil Defense in Gaza Mahmoud Basal told Xinhua.
Hamas said in a press statement that the six were prisoners released from Israeli prisons and deported from the West Bank to Gaza.
West of Gaza City, an Israeli airstrike on a gathering of Palestinians in the al-Rimal neighborhood killed six people, including two children and two women, and an Israeli airstrike on a house in the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood killed four, including an infant, Basal said.
Five people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a house in al-Tuffah, east of Gaza City, whereas three were killed when a bomb dropped by an Israeli drone hit a residential area in the al-Zeitoun neighborhood, south of Gaza City, Basal said, adding that two people, including a child, were killed in an Israeli bombing on al-Tuffah and Sheikh Radwan neighborhoods.
A vehicle bombing in the city of Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, killed two people, Basal added.
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Meanwhile, Nasser Medical Complex reported in a brief press statement that 25 Palestinians were killed since dawn of Tuesday as a result of separate airstrikes on the Al-Mawasi area, west of Khan Younis.
A paramedic was also killed while performing his duty as a result of Israeli shelling on Al-Mawasi, according to Palestinian medical sources.
Six Palestinians, including three children, were killed by Israeli army fire near a US-backed aid distribution center in north of Rafah, southern Gaza, said the sources.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli side on these incidents.
Since Israel resumed its military campaign in Gaza on March 18, at least 7,013 Palestinians have been killed and 24,838 others injured, bringing the overall death toll in Gaza since the conflict began in October 2023 to 57,575, with a total of 136,879 people injured, according to data released Tuesday by health authorities in Gaza.
