As Gaza cease-fire talks progress, Israel war cabinet to meet

Israel’s war cabinet was expected to convene Saturday night for a briefing on efforts advancing in Paris toward a deal to pause the fighting in Gaza and return hostages held there.

Israeli media, citing people familiar with the situation, reported that talks on Friday involving the Israeli delegation and representatives from the United States, Egypt and Qatar had yielded a breakthrough.

The talks “were very good and saw real progress,” Haaretz reported, citing people it didn’t identify.

Based on the progress seen, the parties will soon be able to present Hamas terrorists with an updated framework for a deal to exchange Israeli hostages held in Gaza with Palestinian prisoners in Israel in the near future, according to the report.

A foreign diplomat who wasn’t identified told Haaretz that “all sides are showing flexibility, and a deal could be reached even before Ramadan,” which starts on the evening of March 10.

Separately, the Saudi Asharq network reported that Hamas has softened some of its key demands around a possible hostage release deal. Hamas appears ready to accept an initial truce of six weeks instead of a permanent cease-fire, according to the network, which was cited by the Times of Israel.

Axios on Saturday reported a proposal that Hamas release roughly 40 hostages in exchange for a six-week cease fire and the freeing of “hundreds” of Palestinian prisoners in Israel.

Thousands of Hamas terrorists swarmed into southern Israel on Oct. 7 in a spree of killing, raping and kidnapping that left 1,200 dead and around 250 kidnapped — spurring Israel to launch its war in Gaza, now approaching the start of its sixth month.

The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza said Saturday that the bodies of 92 Palestinians killed in Israeli bombardments were brought to hospitals over the past 24 hours, raising the overall toll to 29,606. The ministry’s death toll doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants.

Israel says its troops have killed more than 10,000 Hamas terrorists.

The rising civilian death toll and severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza have increased calls for a cease-fire in the Israeli offensive aimed at wiping out Hamas, which is classified as a terrorist group by the U.S., Canada and the European Union, among others.

On Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented to his security cabinet his plan for how Gaza should be run after the war.

The proposal for Israel to hold open-ended control over security and civilian affairs in the enclave was quickly rejected by Palestinian leaders, The Associated Press reported.

The U.S. has called on Netanyahu to hold off the next stage of military action in Gaza, aimed at the city of Rafah in south, until he can provide a clear plan to help civilians.