Live Updates: Talks over Gaza truce, prisoner swap stalled — Israeli media

Thursday, August 8, 2024

05:05 GMT — Talks over Gaza truce, prisoner swap stalled — Israeli media

Negotiations over a proposed hostage-prisoner exchange and a ceasefire between Israel and Palestine in Gaza have hit a standstill, with no meetings planned, Israeli media reported.

The information was reported by KAN, the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation, citing unnamed Israeli and foreign sources.

The sources indicated that talks on resuming negotiations on the proposed deal are currently "stalled."

04:33 GMT — Israel kills another World Central Kitchen member in Gaza

Israel has killed Nadi Sallout, member of World Central Kitchen, in an attack on Deir al Balah in central Gaza, Palestinian media reported.

World Central Kitchen, whose seven members were bombed to death by Israel in April, confirmed the killing of Sallout and called him "a humanitarian at his very core."

The US-based non-governmental organisation said Sallout was "an integral member of our warehouse team from the early days of our response in Rafah and a humanitarian at his very core".

04:00 GMT — Jordan calls for 'transformative actions' to force Israel to accept truce

Jordan has called for taking "transformative actions" to force Israel to accept a ceasefire in besieged Gaza.

Speaking to the US news channel CNN, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said, "the assassination of the chief negotiator of Hamas (Ismail Haniyeh) is a violation of international law and a reckless move that we condemn as a crime."

"We must undertake transformative actions to force Israel to accept a cease-fire and end its aggression on Gaza," he added.

03:21 GMT — Officials of Russia and Palestine discuss Gaza

Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov has discussed the situation in the Middle East with the head of the Palestinian National Initiative movement, Mustafa Barghouti, in a phone call.

The conversation was held at the initiative of the Palestinian side, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

According to the ministry, the bulk of the call concerned Israel's ongoing military carnage in Gaza and the growing humanitarian disaster in the blockaded enclave.

02:57 GMT — Netanyahu denies US claims of progress in Gaza truce talks

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to comments by US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby on a ceasefire deal in besieged Gaza.

Netanyahu claimed that his government had not received a response from the Palestinian resistance group on a ceasefire and prisoner exchange proposal, despite submitting a "clear proposal" and sending a negotiation team to Cairo last Saturday.

That was after Kirby told the reporters that "there is a good proposal before both sides, and they need to both accept that proposal so we can get this in place."

02:43 GMT — Israel court hears bid to close prison where soldiers raped Palestinian

The Israeli Supreme Court has considered a petition to shutter a notorious desert military torture centre where soldiers have been abusing and raping Palestinians, as a new video emerged showing the sexual assault of a Palestinian abductee by Israeli troops, who Netanyahu claims are part of the "most moral army" in the world.

Rights groups have been engaged in a legal battle since June to shut down the torture facility known as Sde Teiman, where Israel has held many Palestinians abducted in besieged Gaza during the 10-month carnage.

The groups claim that conditions at the facility are grave and that abuse by Israeli soldiers is common, basing their claims on testimony from released abductees and Israeli whistleblowers.

02:30 GMT — Turkish, Saudi officials discuss Israeli genocide

Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Nuh Yilmaz and his Saudi Arabian counterpart have discussed the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza, said the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

Yilmaz met with Waleed A. Elkhereiji on the margins of an extraordinary Organization of Islamic Cooperation Executive Committee meeting in the Saudi port city of Jeddah, the ministry said on X.

"During the meeting, the ongoing Israeli massacre in Gaza and regional developments were discussed," it added.

02:17 GMT — US urges Israel to probe itself over rape of Palestinian abductees

Israel should fully investigate allegations of sexual abuse against Palestinian abductees by its soldiers, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller hassaid, calling for "zero tolerance" for perpetrators.

Asked about a video, aired by Israel's Channel 12, that appeared to show soldiers taking an abductee out of sight of surveillance cameras to carry out abuses and about broader allegations of abuses against prisoners, Miller said US officials had reviewed the video.

"We have seen the video, and reports of sexual abuse of detainees are horrific. They ought to be investigated fully by the government of Israel, by the IDF," Miller said, referring to the Israeli military.

02:00 GMT — EU, France, UK slam Israel minister for Gaza starvation comment

The European Union, UK and France condemned far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich for suggesting it would be "justified and moral" to starve two million Palestinians in besieged Gaza to free scores of captives held in the Palestinian territory.

"It demonstrates, once again, his contempt for international law and for basic principles of humanity," the EU said in a statement.

"We expect the Israeli government to unequivocally distance itself from the words of Minister Smotrich," the EU said, as it called for access to cover the humanitarian needs of Gazans, including hundreds of thousands of children.

For our live updates from Wednesday, August 7, 2024, click here.