Israel says it agrees to resume ceasefire talks

Jerusalem, Aug 9 (IANS) Israel replied to Qatari, Egyptian and US mediators early Friday, saying that it will send a delegation to resume talks on a Gaza ceasefire deal on August 15.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement that the negotiation team will be dispatched "to finalise the details for implementing the framework agreement", Xinhua news agency reported.

The announcement was made after mediators of the three countries released a joint statement, calling on Israel and Hamas to restart the talks on August 15 to close all remaining gaps in the proposed deal and begin implementing it without further delay.Cairo, Doha, and Washington mediated a week-long truce between Israel and Hamas that ended in late November 2023, which included a swap between Palestinian prisoners and Israeli hostages and more humanitarian aid delivery to Gaza. Yet, later mediation efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement have not been fruitful.

Over the past 10 months, the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip has killed 39,699 Palestinians so far and injured 91,722 others, according to an update released by Gaza's health authorities on Thursday.