Hamas leader claims truce deal with Israel 'close'

November 21, 2023 11:46

A Palestinian child at a hospital. Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has claimed that the terror group is nearing an agreement on a "truce" with Israel amid the ongoing war in Gaza, Times of Israel reported on Tuesday.

In a statement posted to Telegram, the Doha-based Hamas politburo head, Haniyeh said that Hamas gave its response to Qatar and other mediators. "The movement delivered its response to the brothers in Qatar and the mediators, and we are close to reaching a truce agreement," CNN quoted Haniyeh as saying.

Meanwhile, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with the families of Israelis being held hostage in Gaza and reiterated his commitment to secure their releases, calling it "a sacred and supreme mission".

"We will not let up until they are returned, and this is the responsibility of me and the war cabinet," he said in a statement. "I listened to the pain of the families. We spoke heart-to-heart. I shared with them as much as I could about the diplomatic, intelligence and operational efforts we are leading around the clock," Netanyahu said.

He added, "We will not stop fighting until we bring our hostages home, destroy Hamas and ensure there will no longer be a threat from Gaza." In another development, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced the deaths of two more soldiers killed fighting in the northern Gaza Strip, bringing the death toll in the ground operation against Hamas to 68.

« Back to LIVE

TOP STORIES

In-form Indian archers at touching distance from Olympic medal

India will take on the winners of France and the Netherlands in women's team quarter-finals on Sunday; Men's team most fancied

MP horror: Boy rapes sister after watching porn, murders her

The police cracked the case and detained the victim's 13-year-old brother, their mother and sisters aged 17 and 18 after interrogation of 50 people, intense questioning of the accused persons and on the basis of technical evidence, he...

Paris Opening: Of Lady Gaga, cabaret and a mystery torchbearer

Lady Gaga brings cabaret to Paris opening ceremony on the Seine

China's Huang and Sheng win first gold of Paris Games

China's Huang Yuting and Sheng Lihao won the first gold medal of the Paris Games on Saturday in the 10 metres air rifle mixed team event.

3 killed in Navi Mumbai building collapse; 2 rescued

Two persons were rescued after the incident that occurred at 4.50 am in Shahbaz village, they said, adding that before the building collapsed, the authorities managed to evacuate 52 residents.