Negotiations between Israel and Hamas on a new ceasefire and hostage release deal have hit a stalemate after three days of indirect talks in Doha, a Palestinian official said on Wednesday.
The talks, mediated by Qatar, the US, and Egypt, have reportedly stalled over two major sticking points: how humanitarian aid would be distributed during the ceasefire and whether Israeli forces would withdraw from areas of Gaza currently under military control.
Despite US envoy Steve Witkoff saying only “one” unresolved issue remains, a Palestinian source close to the talks said the Israeli delegation is refusing to allow unrestricted aid access through UN agencies. Instead, Israel continues to back the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which uses private security contractors to deliver aid, a mechanism critics have labeled “humiliating.”
The official also said Israel has rejected proposals to withdraw its forces from territories it has occupied since March 18, further blocking progress in the negotiations.
While visiting Washington, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a second unscheduled meeting with President Donald Trump, raising hopes that an agreement might be near. But the Prime Minister emphasised military pressure would continue.
“We are not relenting, even for a moment, and this is made possible due to the military pressure by our heroic soldiers,” Netanyahu said.
“We are determined to achieve all of our objectives,the release of all of our hostages, the living and the deceased and the elimination of Hamas’s military and governing capabilities, thereby ensuring that Gaza will never again constitute a threat to Israel.”
Israel believes that 50 hostages are still held in Gaza, though only about 20 are thought to be alive.
Despite the impasse, the Trump administration remains optimistic.
Witkoff told reporters on Tuesday, “We’re in proximity talks now, and we had four issues, and now we’re down to one. So, we are hopeful that by the end of this week, we will have an agreement that will bring us into a 60-day ceasefire.”
The current proposal reportedly includes the staged release of 28 hostages by Hamas, 10 alive and 18 deceased in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, increased aid to Gaza, and phased Israeli troop withdrawals. Under the plan, Israeli forces would begin withdrawing from northern Gaza after the first group of hostages is released, and from parts of the south a few days later.
On the ground, however, violence continues. At least 20 Palestinians were killed overnight in Israeli airstrikes on a tent in Khan Younis and a house in al-Shati refugee camp, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run Civil Defence agency. The Israeli military has yet to comment.
Israel’s war in Gaza began after the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led assault on southern Israel, which killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 others taken hostage. Since then, at least 57,575 people have been killed in Gaza, according to its health ministry.
Nearly all of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been displaced, most multiple times.
Infrastructure is in ruins, the healthcare system has collapsed, and the population faces critical shortages of food, medicine, water, and shelter.
Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari acknowledged the challenges facing negotiators. “I don’t think that I can give any timeline at the moment,” he said. “But I can say right now that we will need time for this.”
Erizia Rubyjeana
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