Three days of negotiations with Hamas over a ceasefire in Gaza have failed to produce a breakthrough, less than a week before the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan – the informal deadline for a deal.
The United States, Qatar and Egypt spent weeks trying to negotiate a deal under which Hamas would release Israeli prisoners in exchange for a six-week ceasefire, the release of some Palestinian prisoners and increased aid to Gaza.
Tel Aviv Tribune’s Hamdah Salhut said on Tuesday that the latest round of negotiations in Cairo, Egypt, had “ended in a stalemate” and it was unclear what would happen next.
“The Israelis say they are waiting for Hamas’ response, while Hamas says they are waiting for Israel’s response,” she said from occupied East Jerusalem.
“Mediators in the middle are trying to bridge these gaps by trying to find a solution between the two sides, but it seems like there are some sticking points that just don’t seem to be resolved.”
Hamas has refused to release all of the approximately 100 hostages it is holding, as well as the remains of around 30 others, unless Israel ends its offensive, withdraws from Gaza and releases a large number of Palestinian prisoners, including fighters serving life sentences.
A senior Hamas official, Osama Hamdan, said Tuesday that his group wanted a permanent ceasefire, rather than a six-week pause, and a “complete withdrawal” of Israeli forces.
“The security and safety of our people will only be ensured by a permanent ceasefire, an end to aggression and the withdrawal from every inch of the Gaza Strip,” Hamdan told reporters in Beirut.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly rejected these demands and has repeatedly pledged to continue the war until Hamas is dismantled and all captives returned. Israel did not send a delegation to the last round of negotiations.
Meanwhile, Israel wants Hamas to provide it with a list of living captives, as well as the captive-to-prisoner ratio it seeks in any release deal.
Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas official, told the AFP news agency on Monday that the group did not know “who among (the captives) are alive or dead, killed because of strikes or hunger,” and that the Captives were held by numerous groups in several locations.
“So there are two completely different perspectives here and two different sticking points that the other side is not willing to compromise on,” Salhut said.
During the US-Qatar Strategic Dialogue talks on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Hamas to accept the ceasefire plan.
“It is up to Hamas to decide whether it is prepared to commit to this ceasefire,” America’s top diplomat said during his meeting with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Washington, DC, United States.
“Qatar, the United States and our partners will always be persistent to ensure that this agreement is concluded,” Al Thani said, standing next to Blinken.
As the latest round of talks draws to a close, Hamas presented a proposal that mediators would discuss with Israel in the coming days, two Egyptian officials said, according to the Associated Press news agency.
At least 1,139 people were killed and around 250 captives were taken during Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on October 7. More than 100 captives were freed during a week-long ceasefire in November.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive against Gaza has killed more than 30,000 people, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
The nearly five months of fighting have left much of Gaza in ruins and created a worsening humanitarian disaster, with many people, particularly in the devastated northern region, scrambling to find food to survive.
Video. No Comment: Long queues outside bakeries in the Gaza Strip