Israel-Hamas truce talks ‘face four key sticking points’; Islamic State claims attack on Shia mosque in Oman

Oman said six people were killed in an attack on a Shia Muslim mosque in Muscat, a rare incident of violence in the Gulf nation that the Islamic State terror group later claimed.

Yemen’s Houthi rebel group has posted a video of a drone boat nearing a ship and exploding, an apparent attack on an oil tanker that underscores the evolving threat to shipping in the region.

Israel-Hamas truce talks said to face four key sticking points

Negotiations aimed at winding down Israel’s nine-month war on Hamas in Gaza face four key sticking points, including which hostages should be released, according to people with knowledge of the talks.

Other issues include whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sticks to his demands that Hamas be barred from northern Gaza, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because they aren’t authorised to speak publicly. Additionally, Netanyahu wants his forces to retain control of a key southern border corridor and that he should not be bound to an indefinite ceasefire.

Israel declared war on Hamas on 7 October, when it was attacked by thousands of militants who killed 1,200 people and took some 250 hostage. The group returned 110 captives and Israel released about three times as many Palestinian detainees during a seven-day ceasefire that ended on 1 December. US President Joe Biden unveiled proposals for another truce on 31 May, but talks since then have failed to yield results.

Israel says 120 hostages remain in Gaza, 32 of them women, children and elderly or infirm men who should be freed during an initial six-week suspension of hostilities under Biden’s draft deal. However, two people briefed on the negotiations said Hamas was insisting it has only 18 living hostages in that cohort.

Israel has said Hamas should return men of military age to get closer to the quota of 32. Hamas, which is designated a terrorist group by the US and European Union, has said a release of hostages in that category would only take place during the second stage of any ceasefire.

Netanyahu was also insisting on an independent mechanism to guarantee that no operatives from Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad, another Iranian-backed militant group, or their weaponry be allowed to return to the northern Gaza Strip, the people said. That demand appears to square with Biden’s proposal that “civilians” be allowed back to their homes.

However, one person briefed on the talks said that condition may be futile because any undiscovered weapons caches that remain in the north could be accessed by fighters posing as civilians.

Another potential sticking point is a provision that requires Israel to withdraw its forces from Gaza’s populated areas. While Hamas and Egypt have called for any withdrawal to include the southern city of Rafah and a nearby corridor on the border with Egypt, Netanyahu has said a continued Israeli presence is critical.

Read More: War between Israel and Hamas is far from over: Balance of Power

Under Biden’s proposals, on the 16th day of the initial truce, Israel and Hamas would start mediated talks on a second stage. If those negotiations proved to be protracted, the initial truce would be extended beyond the allotted six weeks, according to the US president.

Netanyahu’s administration is concerned Hamas could use this provision to extend the truce indefinitely and is therefore demanding a six-week cut-off, at which point hostilities could potentially resume.

The truce talks gained momentum after Hamas dropped objections to Biden’s proposed deal on 7 July. Within days, negotiators met in Qatar and Egypt, which are leading the latest mediation efforts. Talks appeared to have slowed since the weekend, when Israel struck central Gaza in a bid to kill Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif.

“These discussions are ongoing,” David Mencer, an Israeli government spokesman, told reporters on Tuesday. “We want to bring our people home and back to their families.”

Bassem Naim, a Hamas official, declined to comment. US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan last week said there were “still miles to go” in the talks.

More than 38,000 Palestinians have died in the fighting, according to Hamas, which doesn’t distinguish between fighters and civilians. Israel says it’s killed some 14,000 fighters.

Islamic State claims attack on Shia mosque in Oman

Oman said six people were killed in an attack on a Shia Muslim mosque in Muscat, a rare incident of violence in the Gulf nation that the Islamic State terror group later claimed.

A policeman and five other people were killed and 28 others were wounded in the attack, the state-run Oman News Agency said. Three perpetrators were also killed. The agency said the incident was still being investigated.

Site, an organisation which tracks jihadist channels, said the al-Qaeda offshoot Islamic State claimed the attack in a Telegram post. The group said three of its members opened fire at a gathering of Shia Muslims and exchanged fire with security forces in the Wadi Al-Kabeer area. Bloomberg could not immediately verify the statement.

Islamic State’s attacks in the Middle East have remained mostly focused in Syria, against government forces and their allies. The incident in Muscat comes at a volatile time in the region, with the war in Gaza entering its 10th month and mounting concern that another war between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, designated a terrorist group by the US, could ignite at any moment.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on the X social media site that four of its nationals were killed in what it said was a “dastardly terrorist attack on the Ali bin Abi Talib mosque”. Another 30 Pakistanis were receiving treatment, it said.

The shooting came on the eve of Ashoura, a day of commemoration for Shia Muslims, who are typically a minority in most of the Gulf Arab states.

Houthi video shows drone boat explosion in oil tanker attack

Yemen’s Houthi rebel group has posted a video of a drone boat nearing a ship and exploding, an apparent attack on an oil tanker that underscores the evolving threat to shipping in the region.

The group say the video shows an attack on the Chios Lion oil tanker, which US and UK naval authorities have said was targeted on Monday while transiting the southern Red Sea.

At the time of the incident, the maritime security company Diaplous said that armed guards on board the ship fired at the drone, causing it to explode. That claim hasn’t been confirmed and wasn’t discernible from the Houthi video.

The rebel group has been ramping up attacks on merchant shipping in recent weeks, including by using drone boats. Last month they sank the second vessel since their assault began late last year. Most ships are choosing to avoid the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, instead sailing thousands of kilometres around Africa. However, some do continue to travel through the region.

The UK Navy said that the Liberia-flagged Chios Lion was targeted “due to other vessels within its company structure making port calls in Israel”. After the attack, the tanker turned around and headed northbound in the Red Sea. The vessel was investigating a potential oil spillage, according to the statement. DM

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