Netanyahu to meet with US Middle East envoy to open US visit

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is acceptable to conscionable Monday with U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff during a sojourn to Washington focused connected Israel’s ceasefire with Hamas and different determination issues.

Netanyahu’s bureau said helium and Witkoff would sermon Israel’s ceasefire positions.

The talks travel arsenic negotiations are expected to unfastened this week connected the 2nd signifier of the ceasefire, with the 2 sides needing to hold connected substance specified arsenic the merchandise of the remaining hostages held by Hamas and an extremity to the struggle that began successful October 2023.

Witkoff is owed to travel his Netanyahu talks by speaking with officials from Egypt and Qatar, the different 2 nations that person led the ceasefire negotiations.

Netanyahu is scheduled to conscionable Tuesday with U.S. President Donald Trump, and said those talks would see the warfare against Hamas, countering Iranian aggression and expanding diplomatic relations with Arab countries.

Trump has been a staunch protagonist of Israel but besides pledged to extremity wars successful the Middle East and took recognition for helping to broker the ceasefire agreement.

During the archetypal signifier of the ceasefire, which lasts six weeks, Hamas has freed 18 hostages successful speech for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Hamas, a U.S. designated panic group, has rapidly reasserted its power implicit Gaza since the ceasefire took clasp past month, contempt Israel saying it would not let that to occur. The militants person said they volition not merchandise much hostages slated to spell escaped successful the 2nd signifier of the truce without an extremity to the warfare and the afloat withdrawal of Israeli forces from the constrictive territory on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.

Netanyahu is nether mounting unit from far-right governing partners to resume the warfare aft the archetypal signifier of the truce ends successful aboriginal March.

It's not wide wherever Trump stands.

Netanyahu has said Israel is inactive committed to a afloat triumph implicit Hamas and the instrumentality of each the hostages captured successful the militants' daze Oct. 7, 2023, onslaught that killed 1,200 radical and led to the seizure of 250 hostages. Several twelve stay successful Hamas hands, some surviving and dead.

Israel’s counteroffensive during 15 months of warfare has killed much than 47,400 Palestinians, much than fractional of them women and children. Israel’s subject says the decease toll includes 17,000 militants it has killed.

Even with the ceasefire, periodic attacks are inactive occurring.

An Israeli airstrike connected a conveyance successful cardinal Gaza wounded 5 radical connected Sunday, including a kid who was successful captious condition, according to Al-Awda Hospital, which received the casualties. The Israeli subject said it fired upon the conveyance due to the fact that it was bypassing a checkpoint portion heading northbound successful usurpation of the ceasefire agreement.

Trump brokered normalization agreements betwixt Israel and 4 Arab countries successful his archetypal term. He present is seeking a wider statement successful which Israel would forge ties with Saudi Arabia.

But Riyadh has said it would lone hold to specified a woody if the warfare successful Gaza ends and determination is simply a credible pathway to a Palestinian authorities successful Gaza, the West Bank and eastbound Jerusalem, territories Israel captured successful the 1967 Middle East war.

The U.S. supports Palestinian statehood, but Netanyahu's authorities is opposed.

Even arsenic the Gaza ceasefire has mostly held for 2 weeks, Israel has ramped up operations successful the occupied West Bank. On Sunday, the subject said it was expanding an cognition focused connected the volatile metropolis of Jenin, to the municipality of Tamun.

The West Bank has seen a surge successful unit since the commencement of the warfare successful Gaza, with Israel launching near-daily subject apprehension raids. There has besides been a emergence successful settler unit against Palestinians and Palestinian attacks connected Israelis.

Some worldly successful this study came from The Associated Press and Reuter