Qatar hosts Gaza truce talks, ruler absent in Sudan mediation

Qatar is set to host Gaza ceasefire talks on Thursday as Sudan’s de facto ruler was a no-show at the United States (US)-brokered truce negotiations with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Switzerland on Wednesday.

US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators have invited Israel and Hamas for negotiations aimed at ending fighting that the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says has killed nearly 40,000 people in the Palestinian territory.

Israel confirmed it would attend, though it remained unclear if Hamas, whose 7 October attack on Israel triggered the war, planned to participate.

A Hamas official said the Islamist movement was “continuing its consultations with the mediators,” after demanding the implementation of a proposal that US President Joe Biden laid out on 31 May, instead of holding more talks.

The phased plan would start with an initial six-week “complete ceasefire,” the release of some hostages held in Gaza and a “surge” in humanitarian aid entering the besieged territory as the warring sides negotiate “a permanent end to hostilities,” Biden said at the time.

Mediation efforts have repeatedly stalled since a week-long ceasefire in November — the only pause so far in the war — when dozens of hostages were released by militants in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken appealed directly to Abdel Fattah al-Burhan by telephone to join the Geneva talks with RSF leader and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.

Blinken told him of the “urgent need” for both sides “to end the war and guarantee humanitarian access for the millions of Sudanese who are suffering,” State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said.

The talks, which could last up to 10 days, are being held behind closed doors in an undisclosed location in Switzerland.

The talks are co-hosted by Saudi Arabia and Switzerland, with the African Union, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and the United Nations acting as a steering group.

The brutal conflict has triggered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.