Israel-Hamas war death toll: Israel-Hamas war death toll exceeds 40,000; Peace talks continue in Qatar

New talks aimed at ending the Israel-Hamas war have resumed in Doha and are expected to last until Friday, the White House said.

The talks will also focus on the release of hostages, with an agreement that could be seen as the best hope for avoiding even greater regional conflict.

The United States, Qatar and Egypt were expected to meet with the Israeli delegation in Qatar as the Palestinian death toll exceeded 40,000 in the 10-month war.

A Palestinian official said Hamas would not participate in Thursday’s talks, but that senior officials based in Qatar were ready to discuss any proposals from mediators, as in previous rounds.

A Gaza ceasefire would ease tensions across the region and could discourage Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah from retaliating against Israel after an Israeli airstrike killed a top Hezbollah commander and a top Hamas political leader was killed in an explosion in the Iranian capital.

Mediators have spent months preparing a three-stage plan for Hamas to release Israeli hostages held by Palestinians in the October 7 attack that started the war in exchange for a permanent cease-fire and withdraw Israeli forces from Gaza. .

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Majid Al Ansari, said that the ceasefire talks were still ongoing and would resume on Friday.

The mediators remain steadfast in their commitment to continue their efforts to reach a ceasefire that will allow the release of hostages and the maximum humanitarian movement. into the area. He said in a statement to the Qatar News Agency.

At the same time, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli military condemned an attack by Israeli settlers in a small town in the West Bank that killed at least one Palestinian and wounded another so rarely and quickly.