Egypt yesterday hosted envoys for talks on a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the latest diplomatic effort as Gaza officials reported more deadly bombardment in the nearly five-month-old war.
A senior Hamas official said that a delegation from the Palestinian group would discuss with mediators a proposal for a six-week truce, after a US official said Israel had broadly accepted its terms.
Envoys from the US, Qatar and Hamas have arrived in Cairo, Egyptian state-linked media reported, as all sides have been scrambling to lock in a truce before Ramadan, which begins on Sunday or Monday next week.
Photo: Reuters
The Hamas official said that if Israel were to meet its demands — which have included a military withdrawal from Gaza and stepped-up humanitarian aid — this would “pave the way for an agreement within the next 24 to 48 hours.”
At least 90 Palestinians had been killed in the past 24 hours, including 14 family members whose house in the southern Rafah refugee camp had been hit, the health ministry in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip said.
In a sign of the worsening humanitarian crisis in the narrow coastal territory, ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said at least 16 children had died of malnutrition in recent days as “famine spreads” in the north.
As Gaza faces dwindling deliveries of relief supplies across its land borders, Israel’s top ally the US carried out its first airdrop, joining several Arab and European government that have parachuted in aid since November, but officials and aid groups have said such operations are limited in scope and cannot replace overland aid access.
The UN Security Council voiced concern over “alarming levels of acute food insecurity,” highlighted by a rush for aid from a convoy of trucks in Gaza City on Thursday that ended in the deaths of dozens of Palestinians.
The Hamas official said the group would demand “the entry of at least 400 to 500 trucks per day” carrying food, medicine and fuel as part of a truce deal.
The US official, speaking to reporters late on Saturday, said “there’s a framework deal” for a ceasefire which could start “today if Hamas agrees to release” elderly, women and ill hostages.
Israel had yet to confirm whether it would attend the Cairo talks.
The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) is to tighten rules for candidates running for public office, requiring them to declare that they do not hold a Chinese household registration or passport, and that they possess no other foreign citizenship. The requirement was set out in a draft amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法 ) released by the ministry on Thursday. Under the proposal, candidates would need to make the declaration when submitting their registration forms, which would be published in the official election bulletin. The move follows the removal of several elected officials who were
FOUR DESIGNATED AREAS: Notices were issued for live-fire exercises in waters south and northwest of Penghu, northeast of Keelung and west of Kaohsiung, they said The military is planning three major annual exercises across the army, navy and air force this month, with the navy’s “Hai Chiang” (海強, “Sea Strong”) drills running from today through Thursday, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The Hai Chiang exercise, which is to take place in waters surrounding Taiwan, would feature P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft and S-70C anti-submarine helicopters, the ministry said, adding that the drills aim to bolster the nation’s offshore defensive capabilities. China has intensified military and psychological pressure against Taiwan, repeatedly sending warplanes and vessels into areas near the nation’s air defense identification zone and across
SENATE RECOMMENDATION: The National Defense Authorization Act encourages the US secretary of defense to invite Taiwan’s navy to participate in the exercises in Hawaii The US Senate on Thursday last week passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2026, which strongly encourages the US secretary of defense to invite Taiwan’s naval forces to participate in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise, as well as allocating military aid of US$1 billion for Taiwan. The bill, which authorizes appropriations for the military activities of the US Department of Defense, military construction and other purposes, passed with 77 votes in support and 20 against. While the NDAA authorizes about US$925 billion of defense spending, the Central News Agency yesterday reported that an aide of US
NATIONAL DAY: The ‘Taiwan Dome’ would form the centerpiece of new efforts to bolster air defense and be modeled after Israel’s ‘Iron Dome,’ sources said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday pledged to strengthen the nation’s air defense capabilities and build a “T-Dome” system to create a safety net against growing military threats from China. “We will accelerate our building of the T-Dome, establish a rigorous air defense system in Taiwan with multi-layered defense, high-level detection and effective interception, and weave a safety net for Taiwan to protect the lives and property of citizens,” he said in his National Day address. In his keynote address marking the Republic of China’s (ROC) 114th anniversary, Lai said the lessons of World War II have taught nations worldwide “to ensure that
RSS