KEY POINTS
- Gaza ceasefire talks are stalling over Israel’s proposal to keep troops in the Palestinian enclave.
- Hamas has rejected Israeli withdrawal maps that would leave 40% of Gaza under Israeli control.
- Mediators have paused talks until the arrival of US envoy Steve Witkoff in Doha.
- Hamas insists on full Israeli withdrawal and an end to the war before releasing hostages.
- Israel wants all hostages freed and Hamas dismantled before halting its offensive.
- Israeli strikes have killed over 57,800 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023.
GAZA CITY, Palestine: Indirect talks between Hamas and Israel for a ceasefire in Gaza are faltering due to Israel’s proposals to keep military forces within the territory, Palestinian and Israeli sources familiar with the negotiations in Doha said on Saturday.
The truce talks over a US proposal for a 60-day ceasefire are however expected to continue, the sources said as cited by Reuters news agency, despite the latest obstacles in clinching a deal.
Delegations from both sides began discussions in Qatar last Sunday to try to agree on a temporary halt to the 21-month conflict since October 7, 2023.
Both Hamas and Israel have said that 10 living hostages who were taken that day and are still in captivity would be released if an agreement for a 60-day ceasefire were reached.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that he hoped to clinch a deal “in a few days”, which could then lead to talks for a more permanent end to hostilities.
But one Palestinian source, speaking anonymously due to the sensitivity of the talks, said Israel’s refusal to accept Hamas’s demand to withdraw all of its troops from Gaza was holding back progress, AFP reported.
A Palestinian source, cited by Reuters, said that Hamas has rejected the withdrawal maps which Israel has proposed, as they would leave around 40 percent of the territory under Israeli control, including all of the southern area of Rafah and further territories in northern and eastern Gaza.
US envoy to join talks
Another source, cited by AFP, said mediators had asked both sides to postpone the talks until the arrival of US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, in Doha.
“The negotiations in Doha are facing a setback and complex difficulties due to Israel’s insistence, as of Friday, on presenting a map of withdrawal, which is actually a map of redeployment and repositioning of the Israeli army rather than a genuine withdrawal,” one Palestinian source said as quoted by AFP.
The source said Israel was proposing to maintain military forces in more than 40 percent of the Palestinian territory, forcing hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians into a small area near the city of Rafah, on the border with Egypt, they added.
“Hamas’s delegation will not accept the Israeli maps… as they essentially legitimise the reoccupation of approximately half of the Gaza Strip and turn Gaza into isolated zones with no crossings or freedom of movement,” the source said as quoted by AFP.
A second Palestinian source accused the Israeli delegation of having no authority, and “stalling and obstructing the agreement in order to continue the war of extermination”.
Two Israeli sources, cited by Reuters, said Hamas wants Israel to retreat to lines it held in a previous ceasefire before it renewed its offensive in March.
The Palestinian source said matters regarding aid and guarantees for ending the war were also presenting a challenge, and added that the crisis may be resolved with more US intervention, Reuters reported.
The White House said on Monday that Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, who played a major role in crafting the latest ceasefire proposal, will travel to Doha this week to join discussions there.
Hamas has long demanded an end to the war before it would free remaining hostages; Israel has insisted it would end the fighting only when all hostages are released and Hamas is dismantled.
Latest Israeli strikes
The Gaza war began after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, resulting in the deaths of at least 1,219 people, according to Israeli figures.
Of the 251 hostages seized, 49 are still being held, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.
Since October 2023, Israel has launched a relentless bombardment campaign in Gaza, killing at least 57,823 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in Gaza.
The Israeli military campaign has displaced almost the entire Gaza population of more than 2 million people, sparked a humanitarian crisis and left much of the territory in ruins.
Gaza’s civil defence agency said at least 14 Palestinians were killed in the latest wave of Israeli strikes across the territory on Saturday.
More than 30 people were killed on Friday, including 10 people who were waiting for aid handouts, the agency said.
The Israeli military on Saturday said it had attacked “approximately 250 terrorist targets throughout the Gaza Strip” in the last 48 hours.
Two previous ceasefires — a week-long truce beginning in late November 2023 and a two-month one from mid-January this year — led to the release of 105 hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
Netanyahu, who is under domestic and international pressure to end the war, said this week that neutralising Hamas as a security threat was a prerequisite for any long-term ceasefire talks.
