Category World News

Israel has confirmed it will send a delegation to Qatar’s capital for talks on extending a fragile ceasefire with Hamas.

On Saturday night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a delegation would be sent to Doha on Monday in “an effort to advance negotiations”.

This comes after a Hamas team met Egyptian officials in Cairo on Saturday to negotiate the second phase of the ceasefire deal.

“The delegation emphasised the necessity of adhering to all terms of the agreement proceeding immediately to initiate negotiations for the second phase, opening the border crossings, and allowing the entry of relief materials into Gaza without any restrictions or conditions”, it said in a statement.

In earlier comments, Hamas spokesperson Abdel Latif al-Qanoua said a day earlier that “indicators are positive regarding the start of negotiations for the second phase”.

The first phase of the ceasefire deal ended on March 1, after six weeks of exchanges, including 25 living Israeli captives held in Gaza for the release of 1, 800 Palestinians in Israeli prisons.

Israel has said it wants to extend the first stage of the agreement until mid-April, refusing to move to the second stage of the deal that involves a complete end to the war and full withdrawal of its forces from Gaza.

Hamas, however, says it wants both sides to move to the second phase as agreed.

Protests in Tel Aviv

Meanwhile, freed Israeli captives and families of those still held in Gaza called on the government to move on to the second stage of the deal and prevent a return to war.

During a protest in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening, Einav Zangauker, mother of Matan Zangauker, who is being held in Gaza, accused Netanyahu of playing a “political game of chess” with the captives.

“The war could resume in a week … Only an agreement that brings them all at once will ensure their return”, she said.

Reporting from Jordan, Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut said Israel’s push to see an extension of phase one of the deal has led to a blockade of desperately needed humanitarian aid.

“There’s still so much pressure on Netanyahu from family members of captives who are accusing the premier of prolonging the war for his own personal and political gain”, she said.

Amid the talks, Israel continued its deadly assault on Gaza, killing at least three Palestinians on Saturday.

Palestinians in Gaza are also struggling under the aid blockade, which has worsened a dire humanitarian crisis amid the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Since Friday night, Rafah has been the target of intense Israeli attacks from tanks and drones, with shelling affecting residential areas, including al-Jnaina, ash-Shawka and Tal as-Sultan, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

Magomed Ankalaev scored a stunning upset with a unanimous decision to take Alex Pereira’s undisputed light heavyweight belt at UFC 313 in Las Vegas.

All three judges scored in favour of Ankalaev (21-1-1) in the Saturday night clash, with scores of 29-26 and two at 28-27.

Ankalaev fought a tactical, measured bout to unseat Pereira, who struggled to generate opportunities in the Octagon to unleash his signature left hook against the Dagestan fighter.

“I knew it would be a war”, said Pereira (12-3-0). “Every fight of mine is a war”.

Pereira’s loss to Ankalaev ends a highly publicised streak of three title defenses within the last year, a stretch that saw the 37-year-old become arguably the biggest star in the sport. A win would have made Pereira the second-fastest fighter to four title defenses in UFC history.

In the co-main event, the number three-ranked lightweight and fan favourite Justin Gaethje (27-5-0) earned a unanimous decision over number 11 Rafael Fiziev (12-4-0).

Gaethje was scheduled to fight Dan Hooker, who pulled out because of a hand injury. Gaethje dropped Fiziev with a stiff right uppercut in the second round.

Jayson Tatum had 40 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, helping the Boston Celtics defeat the visiting Los Angeles Lakers 111-101 in a game where LeBron James exited the contest with an injury.

Jaylen Brown added 31 points and six rebounds for the Celtics, who also received 14 points and nine rebounds from Al Horford in the Saturday night blockbuster clash between the NBA’s two winningest franchises.

James, who had 22 points and 14 rebounds for the Lakers, left the game with a groin strain with 6: 44 remaining in the fourth quarter and did not return.

James, 40, told reporters the injury would be treated “day-to-day” and added that there was “not much concern”.

Luka Doncic led the Lakers with 34 points and eight rebounds. He made five of 10 three-point attempts.

Austin Reaves was the only other Laker who scored in double figures with 16 points.

Los Angeles trailed by 22 points in the second half but was within four points after two Doncic free throws made it 96-92 with 5: 06 to play. The Lakers failed to get any closer, however, and Boston was able to pull away to secure the victory.

The loss ended the Lakers ‘ eight-game winning streak. They dropped down to third place in the Western Conference with a 41-22 record.

Boston improved to 46-18 to remain second in the Eastern Conference, seven and a half games behind leaders Cleveland.

Gusts and torrential rain have caused widespread power outages and triggered flash floods in parts of Australia’s east coast, with one person killed and a dozen soldiers wounded.

After days hovering off the coast as a Category 2 tropical cyclone and battering a 400km (250-mile) stretch of coastline, Alfred significantly weakened on Sunday, but still left significant disturbance along its path.

Some 316, 540 people were without power as of Sunday in Queensland’s southeast, where the Gold Coast city was the worst-hit area, energy distributor Energex said in a statement.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Sunday that the “situation in Queensland and northern New South Wales remains very serious due to flash flooding and heavy winds”.

“Heavy rainfall, damaging wind gusts, and coastal surf impacts are expected to continue over coming days”, Albanese said in Canberra.

Suburbs across Brisbane have already been inundated by floodwaters today, caused by heavy rainfall overnight, rapid river level rises and elevated sea levels associated with Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred. #9News

STREAM HERE: https://t.co/mzkmCL0m8e pic. twitter.com/jcElfr8C3n

In Queensland’s Hervey Bay, more than 230mm (9 inches) of rain was recorded in just six hours on Sunday morning, according to State Premier David Crisafulli.

“We’ve seen that culminate in reports of flash flooding in homes and in businesses”, Crisafulli was quoted as saying by the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper.

News.com. au reported that emergency services in Hervey Bay have carried out multiple rescues “in one of its worst weather emergencies on record” in the area.

Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology said heavy rainfall that could cause flash flooding was developing on Sunday and could affect Brisbane as well as the Queensland regional centres of Ipswich, Sunshine Coast and Gympie.

Damaging winds with gusts of about 90km/h (60mph) were also possible in the state, the bureau said on its website.

Brisbane airport reopened on Sunday but posted on X that “ongoing weather may affect the schedule”.

Queensland will decide later on Sunday whether about 1, 000 state schools, closed due to the bad weather, will reopen on Monday.

The neighbouring state of New South Wales (NSW) has confirmed all public schools that were closed on Friday due to Alfred will remain closed again on Monday.

On Saturday, one man died in a flood in northern NSW.

Meanwhile, 13 Australian Defence Force soldiers en route to help residents in NSW’s city of Lismore were injured in a road collision, officials said. According to The Sydney Morning Herald, two of the soldiers remain in serious condition.

Alfred is the first cyclone to cross the east Australian coast&nbsp, near the Queensland state capital of Brisbane since 1974.