In Gaza ceasefire talks, return of Palestinians to region’s north becomes crucial issue

A fresh round of Gaza ceasefire talks will take place in Cairo this weekend. And the return of Palestinians to the region's northern part has become a crucial issue in the truce talks, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Saturday (Apr 6) citing officials. The report said that an agreement to allow civilians to return to the north could ease the United States' concerns about the expected Israeli offensive in Rafah.

Under the most recent proposal, Israel and Hamas, which have been at war since October last year, would agree to a six-week ceasefire in exchange for the release of sick, elderly and wounded hostages held by the Palestinian militant group.

As per the report, Arab mediators involved in ceasefire talks said that Israel has been open to permitting returns to the north at a rate of 2,000 people a day, mainly women and children. A maximum of 60,000 Palestinians could return under a proposal deemed acceptable by Israel, the report said. But this would mostly exclude Palestinian men between the ages of 18 and 50.

According to Arab officials, the return of the displaced civilians could begin 10 days to two weeks after a six-week ceasefire is implemented.

Meanwhile, Israeli and Egyptian officials said that the civilians would have to pass through Israeli military checkpoints to prevent Hamas militants from re-infiltrating the war-torn region's north.

Ahead of truce talks, an appeal by Joe Biden

On Friday, US President Joe Biden urged Egyptian and Qatari leaders to pressure Hamas to agree to the Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal ahead of the talks in Cairo. Biden wrote letters to his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, urging them to secure commitments from Hamas to agree and abide by a deal.

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Biden's appeal came a day after he spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The two leaders discussed ongoing hostage negotiations and the round of talks in Cairo.

The US president told Netanyahu to empower his negotiators in Cairo so that a deal can be reached as soon as possible.

16 arrested for pro-Hamas chants at al-Aqsa mosque

In the latest news from the conflict, the Israeli Police arrested 16 people for incitement and pro-Hamas chants during the dawn prayers at Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque. According to a report by The Times of Israel on Saturday, the police said that one person was arrested for shooting fireworks at police, while the others were held for incitement to violence and terrorism after they began chanting in support of Hamas.

Thousands of worshippers gathered at the mosque on Friday night to hold prayers overnight to mark Laylat al-Qadr. The police said that most of the arrested were from East Jerusalem and northern Israel.

The police also fired tear gas to disperse worshippers following the prayers.

(With inputs from agencies)