Israel to send delegation to Doha as over 9,000 missing in Gaza

Israel will be sending a delegation to Doha this week to discuss the implementation of the second stage of the Gaza ceasefire deal and “technical details” related to the agreement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on Monday.

This comes after US President Donald Trump said there were no guarantees the ceasefire would hold, and Netanyahu had met with US national security advisor Mike Waltz and the US special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff.

The statement from Netanyahu’s office described the meetings with US officials as “positive and friendly” and added that the premier will convene the security cabinet once he returns from meeting Trump in the US to discuss the second stage of the deal.

Negotiations pertaining to the second stage of the deal were set to start on Monday, with the terms stating that discussions on this part of the deal must conclude before the end of the fifth week of the agreement.

Two senior Hamas sources told AFP on Monday they were ready for the second phase of the deal to commence.

One spokesperson from the group, who asked to remain anonymous, confirmed that Hamas informed mediators during meetings held in Cairo last week that they were prepared to engage for the second round of negotiations.

Arab ministers decry plans to displace Palestinians

As talks progress, Trump’s repeated suggestions that Palestinians should be removed from Gaza into Jordan, Egypt and other countries in the Middle East have been met with backlash from Arab ministers.

Foreign ministers from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar and a Palestinian official penned a joined letter addressing Secretary of State Marco Rubio, denouncing the potential move.

According to Axios, the letter calls for Palestinians to instead be part of Gaza’s reconstruction and says removing them from their land will add a “new dangerous dimension to the conflict”.

US officials reportedly said Trump’s comments were made in the context of the widespread destruction in Gaza, with Witkoff adding it could take 10 to 15 years to rebuild the enclave.

However, the letter from the ministers said: “We must be vigilant not to increase the risk to regional stability by further displacement, even if only temporary as it increases the risk of radicalization and unrest in the region as a whole”.

“Palestinians will live in their land and help rebuild it and should not be stripped of their agency during reconstruction and must take ownership of the process with the support of the international community” the letter added, warning against deportations.

Delayed aid into Gaza

Meanwhile, Gaza’s government media office said that Israel is continuing to delay aid into the besieged enclave, despite a worsening humanitarian crisis.  

In a statement on Monday, the media office said thousands of Palestinian families across the Strip have been forced to sleep out in the open in low temperatures.

“Securing shelters has become an urgent humanitarian need…it is the most pressing need at this moment” the statement read.

The media office also said that Israel was restricting the aid being sent in, highlighting that this violates the terms of the ceasefire deal which stipulates that 200,000 tents must be sent in as well as Israel allowing in equipment to clear the rubble.

“…The Israeli occupation is putting obstacles and delating the execution of the agreement, escalating the humanitarian crisis and suffering of civilians in the Gaza Strip” the statement continued.

Antoine Renard, a World Food Programme official, said while some food aid was coming into Gaza, Israeli restrictions remain, mainly on items that are considered to be “dual use” for military and civilian uses.

The limited aid trickling in comes as over 9,000 Palestinians have been reported missing since 7 October 2023, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal citing the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

According to the ICRC, many are believed to be still buried under the rubble while others are likely forcibly detained without any information given about the reason why, their condition or their whereabouts.

Health authorities in Gaza said this week that the updated death toll from Israel’s war on Gaza since October 2023 is 61,709. The figure includes 17,881 children and 214 newborn infants.

The head of the Gaza government media office added the bodies of 76 percent of Palestinians killed since October 2023 have been recovered but around 14,222 are believed to be still trapped under the rubble.