According to reports from the Hamas-controlled Palestinian Ministry of Health, at least 60 people were killed in Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip on Thursday. Meanwhile, American and Arab mediators held a new meeting in Qatar in an attempt to break the deadlock in negotiations on a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that in the coming days, the IDF would enter the enclave “in full force.”
Trump, meanwhile, reiterated that the United States wants to “take over” Gaza, which he said would become a “zone of freedom.” The president did not explain what this meant.
“I have concepts for Gaza that I think are very good: make it a zone of freedom, allow the United States to step in and turn it into a zone of freedom,” Trump said in Qatar. “I would be proud if the United States got it, took it, made it a zone of freedom.”
Hamas said in a statement that Israel was making a “desperate attempt to negotiate under cover of fire” while indirect talks on a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas were taking place in Doha with the participation of Trump’s envoys and mediators from Qatar and Egypt.
Palestinian health officials say Israeli attacks have intensified since US President Donald Trump began a tour of the Persian Gulf, which many Palestinians had hoped he would use to broker a truce.
Talks on a ceasefire in Gaza continue
Meanwhile, reports emerged that US envoys held separate meetings in Doha with representatives of Hamas and Israel to discuss a ceasefire in Gaza with the participation of Qatari officials.
In an interview with Al-Araby TV on May 14, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said that US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff had held talks with Qatari and Israeli officials in Doha the previous day, adding that during his visit, the American envoy had also met with a group of families of Israeli hostages.
Talks on a ceasefire stalled after Israel resumed military operations in Gaza on March 18, breaking a nearly two-month truce and accusing Hamas of repeatedly refusing to release hostages and unwillingness to continue negotiations.
Meanwhile, Former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis continues to draw public attention to the situation in Gaza. He wrote on X:
“22 corpses of children were added to the pile of 10s of 1000s of dead kids that Israel has erected with the active help of the West. One day, the same people who are today complicit in this will claim they opposed it. Don’t let them get away with it!”
