Ceasefire talks Hamas stays away as latest round begins in Doha

A new round of negotiations aimed at brokering a ceasefire in the war in Gaza and preventing it from spiralling into a region-wide conflict began yesterday, as the death toll in the Palestinian territory reached a grim milestone of 40,000 people, according to local health authorities.

- Bethan McKernan

Mediators from the US, Qatar and Egypt met an Israeli delegation in the Qatari capital, Doha, yesterday afternoon, with talks expected to continue into today. Hamas, the Palestinian militant group, is not directly participating in the talks, so expectations of a breakthrough are low.

While Hamas and Israel agreed in principle last month to implement a three-phase plan publicly proposed by Joe Biden in May, both sides have since requested "amendments" and "clarifications", leaving talks at an impasse. Gaps include the continuing presence of Israeli troops on the Gaza-Egypt border, the sequencing of a hostage release, and the return of civilians from southern to northern Gaza.

The renewed push for talks is seen as more vital than ever after the back-to-back assassinations of a top Hezbollah commander and Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas's political chief.

The killings in Beirut and Tehran on 31 July, which both the Lebanese group and Iran have blamed on Israel, threaten to transform the war in Gaza into a region-wide conflict.

It is hoped that a ceasefire in Gaza would lower the temperature in the Middle East and dissuade Iran and Hezbollah from retaliatory action.