Turkish FM Fidan, Blinken discuss latest Gaza cease-fire proposal

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Friday discussed the latest proposal raised in negotiations between Palestinian group Hamas and Israel in a phone call with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Indirect talks between the two sides, mediated by the US, Qatar and Egypt, have so far failed to secure agreement on a permanent cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate truce.

Israel has killed more than 36,000 Palestinians in Gaza since a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023 which claimed 1,200 lives and around 250 were taken as hostages.

As many as 105 captives were released as part of a brief truce in November in exchange of 240 Palestinian prisoners.

Around 125 people remain held captive, with many of them believed to be dead due to Israeli airstrikes.

Nearly eight months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of "genocide" at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which in its latest ruling has ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza where more than a million displaced Palestinians had sought refuge.