A Hamas delegation says Gaza ceasefire talks are progressing well, according to a statement issued after a meeting with Qatar’s emir.

As ceasefire negotiations advance, residents in Gaza are expressing “a mixture of optimism and deep-seated scepticism”, according to our team on the ground.

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson to hold news conference.

Majed al-Ansari, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, is expected to speak shortly during his weekly news conference amid anticipation of a ceasefire deal in Gaza.

Gaza ceasefire talks under way in Qatar

A round of ceasefire talks has begun in Qatar amid growing hopes that a deal is within reach, Reuters is reporting, citing an official briefed on the negotiations.

Mediators will hold separate talks with Hamas.

The heads of Israel’s intelligence agencies, the Middle East envoys for the incoming and outgoing US administrations and Qatar’s prime minister are due at the talks.

Mediator Qatar says a Gaza ceasefire deal is at the closest point it has been in the past few months, adding that many of the obstacles in the negotiations have been ironed out.

Germany’s Scholz says Gaza deal seems within reach.

Gaza death toll since dawn rises to 32.

Hamas leaders have conducted a series of consultations with leaders of Palestinian factions, informing them about progress made in the ongoing negotiations in Doha, according to a statement from the group’s chapter in the occupied West Bank.

The killing of journalist Mohammed al-Talmas in Gaza City has raised the number of media professionals killed in Gaza since October 2023 to 204.

Palestinian fisherman killed by Israeli occupation forces off Gaza’s Deir el-Balah.

Gaza death toll rises

At least 61 Palestinians have been killed and 281 others injured in Israeli occupation forces attacks across the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry.

The latest killings brought the total death toll since October 7, 2023 to 46,645, the ministry said.

Mediator Qatar says a Gaza ceasefire deal is at the closest point it has been in the past few months, adding that many of the obstacles in the negotiations have been ironed out.

Germany’s Scholz says Gaza deal seems within reach.

Gaza death toll since dawn rises to 32.

Hamas leaders have conducted a series of consultations with leaders of Palestinian factions, informing them about progress made in the ongoing negotiations in Doha, according to a statement from the group’s chapter in the occupied West Bank.

The killing of journalist Mohammed al-Talmas in Gaza City has raised the number of media professionals killed in Gaza since October 2023 to 204.