JERUSALEM, July  4, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu announced Thursday he has agreed to send a delegation for talks on
securing the release of hostages seized in the October 7 attacks.
                   In a statement after telephone talks with US President Joe Biden,
Netanyahu's office said: "The prime minister updated President Biden about his
decision to send a delegation that would continue negotiations for freeing the
hostages."
  There was no indication where the delegation would go or when it would
leave. Netanyahu called a meeting of his security cabinet for late Thursday to
discuss proposals sent by Hamas through Qatari mediators to end the Gaza
conflict, media reports sai
 Hamas has demanded an end to fighting and an Israeli withdrawal as a
prelude to any hostage deal.
  Israel countered that there can be no end to the war without the release of
hostages in the Palestinian territory. Netanyahu has also repeatedly vowed that
the Gaza campaign will not end until Hamas's military and government
capabilities have been destroyed.
    Hamas said late Wednesday that it had sent new "ideas" for a potential deal
and Netanyahu's office said the government was "evaluating" them.
   Qatar, Egypt and the United States have been mediating between the two
sides and sources close to their efforts said there had been a renewed push to
bridge the "gaps" between the foes in recent weeks.
  Biden announced a pathway to a truce deal in May which he said had been
proposed by Israel and which included a six-week truce to allow for talks and
eventually a programme to rebuild devastated Gaza.
"There are important developments in the latest proposals with positive
options for both sides," said a diplomat briefed on the latest proposals. "This
time the Americans are very serious about this."
    The war started with the October 7 attack on southern Israel that resulted
in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally
based on Israeli figures.
   Hamas militants also seized 251 hostages, 116 of whom remain in Gaza
including 42 the army says are dead.
  Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 38,011 people, also
mostly civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health
ministry.