Hamas gives response to cease-fire plan

DOHA, Qatar • Hamas’ response to the latest plan for a cease-fire in Gaza and the release of hostages was “generally positive,” key mediator Qatar said Tuesday, as the militant group reiterated its demand for an end to the war, something Israel has thus far ruled out.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdurrahman Al Thani announced the response during a news conference with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who said he would brief Israeli leaders on it Wednesday when he meets with them.

Blinken, who met with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman the day before, said the Saudis still have a “strong interest” in normalizing relations with Israel but require an end to the war and a “clear, credible, time-bound path to the establishment of a Palestinian state.”

Qatar, which has long mediated with Hamas, has been working with the U.S. and Egypt to broker a cease-fire that would involve a halt in fighting for several weeks and the release of the over 100 hostages still held by Hamas after its Oct. 7 cross-border raid that ignited the war.

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Former Chilean president dies in helicopter crash

VIÑA DEL MAR, Chile • Sebastián Piñera, the two-time former president of Chile who faced social upheaval followed by a pandemic in his second term, died Tuesday in a helicopter crash. He was 74.

Chile Interior Minister Carolina Tohá confirmed the death of the former president. No further details were immediately released about the cause of the accident.

Serving as president from 2010 to 2014 and again from 2018 to 2022, Piñera led the South American nation during moments of crisis, including the aftermath of an 8.8 magnitude earthquake and tsunami.

He gained a spotlight for his administration’s rescue of trapped Chilean miners in 2010, and his governance during the coronavirus pandemic, when Chile was placed among the top five countries for vaccination rates for the illness.

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