World

US Says Israel-Hamas Hostage Talks May Resume This Week After 'Delay' Caused by Iran Strikes

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Hostage talks between Israel and Hamas are expected to resume as early as this coming week despite a brief delay caused by Iran's retaliatory attack on the Jewish State, a senior US administration official said Sunday.
Sputnik
"Obviously the situation delayed that a little bit, but we look forward to picking that back up as early as this coming week," the unnamed official told reporters during a conference call.
Media reported Wednesday that the latest ceasefire proposal in the six-month old Gaza war, presented at recent talks in Cairo, Egypt, provided for the release of 40 Israeli hostages in exchange for 900 Palestinians as part of a three-stage plan adopted by international mediators.
Each stage of the plan was expected to stretch across 42 days, with the first involving the return of displaced people to northern Gaza, who would then be supported by temporary housing efforts organized by the UN, and 500 aid trucks delivering supplies on a daily basis.
World
Hamas Rejects US Truce Plan in Gaza, Will Present Its Own Plan - Reports
The Wall Street Journal reported, citing mediators, that Hamas had rejected the plan for a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza Strip proposed by the US, and would propose its own plan for a permanent end to the conflict.
In the opening days of the conflict, Hamas took over 250 Israelis hostage, with about 100 remaining in the Gaza-based Palestinian militia group's hands at the moment.
The current Hamas-Israel conflict has been the deadliest escalation in Palestinian-Israeli and Arab-Israeli tensions in decades, with the IDF saying at least 604 Israeli troops and 822 civilians have been killed, and Gaza health authorities estimating that over 33,100 residents of the Strip have been killed, with over 8,000 missing and 75,900 wounded (for a total of over 5 percent of Gaza's pre-escalation population).
The Gaza crisis threatens to expand into a regional war, with Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen-based militias targeting Israel with missile and drone attacks, the latter closing the Red Sea to Israeli and Western shipping, and Iran launching a massive drone and missile barrage against Israel Saturday night in retaliation to Tel Aviv's attack on the Iranian Embassy compound in Damascus, Syria on April 1.
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