US President Donald Trump is due to meet with Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, the White House has said, as Mr Trump presses for progress on a Gaza ceasefire and hostage-release deal.
Israeli and Hamas negotiators have been taking part in the latest round of ceasefire talks in Doha since 6 July, discussing a US-backed proposal for a 60-day ceasefire that envisages a phased release of hostages, Israeli troop withdrawals from parts of Gaza, and discussions on ending the conflict.
Mr Trump will host the Qatari leader for dinner at the White House this evening, the White House said in a daily schedule for the president.
Mr Trump on Sunday said he hoped talks for a ceasefire deal would be “straightened out” this week.
His Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff had said on Sunday he was “hopeful” about the ceasefire negotiations under way in Qatar, a key mediator between the two sides.
US, Qatari, and Egyptian mediators have been working to secure an agreement.
However, Israel and Hamas are divided over the extent of an eventual Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian enclave.
President Trump this year proposed a US takeover of Gaza, which was condemned globally by rights experts, the UN, and Palestinians as a proposal of “ethnic cleansing”.
Mr Trump and Sheikh Mohammed are also expected to discuss efforts to resume talks between the US and Iran to reach a new nuclear agreement.
Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says 20 dead at aid point
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has said 20 people died at an aid point in Khan Younis, in the south of the Palestinian territory, blaming armed “agitators” in the crowd.
“Our current understanding is that 19 of the victims were trampled and one was stabbed amid a chaotic and dangerous surge,” the US- and Israel-backed organisation said in a statement.
“We have credible reason to believe that elements within the crowd – armed and affiliated with Hamas – deliberately fomented the unrest,” it added.
A medical source at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis gave a lower toll, saying it had received nine bodies, “including several children” after “Israeli forces” opened fire.
The deaths came as Gaza’s civil defence agency said eight people were killed in Israeli strikes across the Palestinian territory, including six in Gaza City.
The GHF, which uses private US security and logistics companies to get aid supplies into Gaza, said the stampede was “driven by agitators in the crowd”.
It added: “We have credible reason to believe that elements within the crowd — armed and affiliated with Hamas — deliberately fomented the unrest”.
The medical source at Nasser Hospital said the victims were “heading to the aid distribution centre in northwest Rafah to receive food aid” but the main gate to the centre had been closed.
“The Israeli occupation forces and the centre’s private security personnel opened fire on them, resulting in a large number of deaths and injuries,” the source added.
The GHF, an officially private effort, began operations on 26 May after Israel had halted supplies into Gaza for more than two months, prompting warnings of imminent famine.
The UN said yesterday that it had recorded 875 people killed in Gaza while trying to get food, including 674 “in the vicinity of GHF sites”, since late May.
Last week, UN rights office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani told reporters that “most of the injuries are gunshot injuries”.
The GHF has denied that fatal shootings have occurred in the immediate vicinity of its aid points and the Israeli army has accused Hamas of being responsible for firing at civilians.
“For the first time since operations began, GHF personnel identified multiple firearms in the crowd, one of which was confiscated,” the GHF said.
“An American worker was also threatened with a firearm by a member of the crowd during the incident,” it added, calling it part of a “deeply troubling pattern”, including “false messages” about aid site openings.
Earlier, the Israeli military said it had completed a new road in southern Gaza separating several towns east of Khan Younis from the rest of the territory in an effort to disrupt Hamas operations.
Palestinians see the road under Israeli army control as a way to exert pressure on Hamas in ongoing ceasefire talks, which started on 6 July and are being brokered by Arab mediators Egypt and Qatar with the backing of the United States.
Palestinian sources close to the negotiations said a breakthrough had not yet been reached on any of the main issues under discussion.
Hamas said Israel wanted to keep at least 40% of Gaza under its control as part of any deal, which the group rejected. Hamas has also demanded the dismantlement of the GHF and the reinstatement of a UN-led aid delivery mechanism.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the war will end once Hamas is disarmed and removed from Gaza.
Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed more than 58,000 people, according to Gaza health authorities.
Almost 1,650 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed as a result of the conflict, including 1,200 killed in the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack.
An estimated 50 Israelis and foreign nationals remain captive in Gaza, including 28 hostages who have been declared dead and whose bodies are being withheld.
