Negotiations on a potential ceasefire in the Gaza war have entered a crucial phase, as Hamas reiterated its demand for an end to Israel’s attack on Palestinian territory in exchange for the release of captives and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu categorically ruled out such an outcome.
On Sunday, both sides blamed each other for the impasse. In the second day of talks with Egyptian and Qatari mediators, Hamas negotiators maintained their position that any ceasefire agreement must include an end to the war, Palestinian officials said.
Israeli officials did not travel to Cairo to participate in indirect diplomacy, but on Sunday, Netanyahu reiterated Israel’s objective since the start of the war almost seven months ago: to disarm and dismantle Hamas.
He said Israel was willing to halt fighting in Gaza to secure the release of the hostages still held by Hamas, believed to number more than 100.
“But although Israel has demonstrated its will, Hamas remains entrenched in its extreme positions, the first of which is the demand to withdraw all our forces from the Gaza Strip, end the war and leave Hamas in power,” Netanyahu said.
“Israel cannot accept this,” he said.
In a statement released shortly after Netanyahu, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh blamed Netanyahu for “the continuation of aggression and the expansion of the circle of conflict, and the sabotage of efforts made through mediators and various parties.”
A Hamas delegation present at the Gaza truce talks in Cairo has departed and will return for further talks on Tuesday, Egyptian state media reported.
“The Hamas delegation left Cairo tonight [Sunday] to Doha for consultations, and will return on Tuesday to conclude negotiations” toward a truce in the war with Israel, said Al-Qahera News, a website linked to Egyptian intelligence services, citing an “informed source ” not identified.
Reporting from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, Al Jazeera’s Bernard Smith said Israel has insisted that any agreement would only include a pause in fighting, rather than a permanent end to hostilities.
“On the part of the Israelis, there is an insistence that the most Hamas will achieve is this initial 40-day truce in exchange for 33 Israeli prisoners and the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners,” he said.
“On the part of Hamas, there is an insistence that any agreement with Israel must lead to an end to the war and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza,” Smith added.
Meanwhile, CIA Director William Burns – who was in Cairo – is also traveling to Doha to hold an emergency meeting with Qatar’s prime minister, an official briefed on the talks said late on Sunday.
“Burns is on his way to Doha for an emergency meeting with the Qatari prime minister, with the aim of exerting maximum pressure on Israel and Hamas to continue negotiations,” a source told Reuters.
Washington pressured Hamas to accept the latest Israeli proposal.
Rafah’s attack
The talks come amid signs that Israel is preparing for an attack on Rafah in southern Gaza, where more than a million displaced Palestinians have taken refuge.
Israel believes thousands of Hamas fighters are hiding in the city, along with potentially dozens of captives.
Such an incursion would put hundreds of thousands of lives at risk and would be a huge blow to aid operations across the enclave, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on Friday.
Residents and health officials in Gaza said Israeli planes and tanks continued to attack areas of the Palestinian enclave overnight, killing and wounding several people.
Hamas’ armed wing claimed responsibility for an attack on Sunday near the Karem Abu Salem crossing between Israel and Gaza, the main entry point for humanitarian aid access to Gaza. Israel’s military said the crossing – known to Israelis as Kerem Shalom – was closed after the rocket attack.
At least 34,683 people, mostly women and children, have been killed and 78,018 injured in Israel’s war on Gaza since October, according to Palestinian authorities.
Israel launched the attack after Hamas led an assault on southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing at least 1,139 people, according to an Al Jazeera tally based on Israeli statistics.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
