Talks in Cairo between Fatah and Hamas to form a committee to manage the Gaza Strip after the war were ” positive “, a senior Hamas official said on Sunday.
On the Hamas television channel, Al Aqsa TV, Osama Hamdan clarified that he did not want to draw hasty conclusions.
The official also said Hamas had not received any new written proposals regarding a possible ceasefire in Gaza.
Investigation into alleged leak of Gaza documents by Netanyahu close friend
An alleged leak of classified documents concerning the war in Gaza and involving an aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has shaken Israeli politicians and outraged the families of hostages held by Hamas.
« Confidential and sensitive information was extracted from IDF (Israel Defense Forces) systems and illegally taken out,” the Rishon Le-Zion Magistrate's Court said on Sunday, which may have caused “serious damage to state security and posed a risk to information sources.”
According to the court, this leak could have harmed efforts to free the hostages. Benjamin Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing by members of his office and said in a statement Saturday that he only learned about the leak from the media.
The four suspects – a spokesperson for the prime minister's entourage and three security personnel – could not be reached for comment. Details of the leaked document were published by German newspaper Bild on September 6, according to Israeli newspaper Haaretz, one of the media outlets that had asked the court to lift the publication ban.
At that time, the United States, Qatar and Egypt were acting as mediators in ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas, which were expected to include an agreement on the release of hostages held in Gaza. But the talks broke down, with Israel and Hamas blaming each other for the impasse. The article, described as exclusive, described an alleged Hamas negotiation strategy on the hostages and largely repeated Benjamin Netanyahu's comments on the impasse in the negotiations.
Air France suspends flights over the Red Sea area as a precaution
Air France suspended as a precaution “until further notice” on Sunday the flight over the Red Sea area after the report by a crew of a “luminous object” over Sudan, the company announced.
“Air France confirms that, as part of the precautionary principle, the company has decided to suspend flights over the Red Sea area until further notice”she said in a statement sent to AFP.
“This decision follows the observation by a crew of a luminous object at high altitude in the Sudan area”she added.
Air France indicates that the itinerary of some of its flights has been changed and that some aircraft have turned around and returned to land at their departure airport.
Israeli attacks kill at least 31, doctors say
At least 31 people were killed during Israeli bombardments on the Gaza Strip on Sunday, according to Palestinian doctors, with almost half of the deaths recorded in areas of the north where the army has been carrying out a month-long campaign targeting, according to them, , to prevent Hamas from regrouping.
The Palestinians said the new air and ground offensives and forced evacuations constituted a “ ethnic cleansing » aimed at emptying two towns in the north of the Gaza Strip and a camp of their populations in order to create buffer zones.
Israel denies this claim, arguing that it is fighting Hamas fighters who launch attacks from these towns. Medics said at least 13 Palestinians were killed in separate attacks on homes in the town of Beit Lahiya and Djabalia, the largest of the enclave's eight historic refugee camps and the focal point of the new military offensive.
The others were killed in separate Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City and southern areas, including one in Khan Yunis that health authorities said killed eight people, including four children.
Netanyahu on the Lebanese border, deadly raids on Hezbollah strongholds
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has once again vowed to hit Hezbollah hard, during a trip to the border with Lebanon, where his army has intensified its deadly strikes on strongholds of the pro-Iranian Lebanese movement.
On its southern border, Israel continued its offensive against Hamas in Gaza, where 30 Palestinians including women and children were killed, according to local emergency services.
A former spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was also arrested for releasing confidential military documents to the press without authorization, which could have undermined an agreement on the release of hostages held in Gaza, said a Israeli court.
