The latest round of talks between Israel and Hamas reached a deadlock on Sunday as mediators struggled to narrow the gaps, according to two senior Hamas officials and two other officials familiar with the talks. left and a Hamas delegation left the talks in Cairo. An Israeli official also confirmed the negotiations had stalled and described them as being in a “crisis”.
For months, talks aimed at achieving a ceasefire and releasing the hostages have made little progress, but signs that the two sides are moving closer to a deal have emerged over the past week. Israel has withdrawn some of its long-standing demands and a top Hamas official said the group was studying Israel’s latest offer in a “positive spirit.”
However, last weekend’s setback means Palestinians living in miserable conditions in Gaza will not receive immediate amnesty and families of hostages held by rebels will have to wait longer for freedom. for their loved ones.
The main stumbling block in the negotiations is the duration of the ceasefire, with Hamas demanding it be permanent and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel expressing openness to just a pause in fighting.
Hamas blamed the lack of progress on Netanyahu, who again said in recent days that the Israeli army would invade Rafah, the southernmost town in the Gaza Strip, with or without a deal.
“We were very close, but Netanyahu’s narrow-mindedness canceled a deal,” Mousa Abu Marzouk, a senior Hamas official, said in a phone interview.
Mr. Netanyahu has for weeks announced his intention to mount a ground offensive against Rafah, where about a million Palestinians are sheltering. The Biden administration has pressured Israel to refrain from carrying out a major operation in the city.
On Sunday, Hamas fired about 10 rockets from the Rafah border crossing area, killing three soldiers near the Kerem Shalom intersection, according to the Israeli army. Rocket attacks by Hamas have been relatively rare in recent months and Israel has said it has responded with airstrikes targeting rocket launch sites.
An anonymous Israeli official said that Israel and Hamas had moved closer to an agreement a few days ago, but that Netanyahu’s statements on Rafah had forced Hamas to toughen its demands to ensure that Israeli forces will win. Don’t go into town. Hamas is now seeking further assurances that Israel will not just partially implement the deal and then continue fighting, the official said.
The official lamented that Hamas and Israel have turned to playing a “blame game.”
Two US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, rejected the notion that the talks were deadlocked, suggesting the sides were still reviewing details of the most recent proposals.
Netanyahu and the United States have argued that Hamas is delaying a deal. On Sunday, Netanyahu said he would not agree to a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and an end to the war. Meeting such demands, he said, would allow Hamas to reestablish control over Gaza, rebuild its military capabilities and intimidate communities across Israel.
“It is Hamas that is blocking the release of our hostages,” he said. “We are doing everything possible to free the hostages; This is our top priority.”
An Israeli delegation never arrived in Cairo for the latest round of negotiations. Israeli officials said Israel sought a written response to Hamas’s latest proposal before sending a delegation, but the group never delivered one.
Mr. Abu Marzouk said Hamas had wanted Israel to be present at the Cairo talks, where it could work through mediators to clarify “ambiguous” points in Israel’s latest proposal, including the entire ceasefire period.
“The ceasefire needs to be permanent and permanent,” he said.
Mr. Abu Marzouk was the only one of the officials who spoke out about the negotiations to allow his name to be used. Others spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive topics or because they were not authorized to speak to the press.
Mr. Abu Marzouk said Hamas thought Mr. Netanyahu wanted an agreement that would allow Israel to invade Rafah after its hostages were released.
“This is Netanyahu’s plan,” he said.
A technical team from the Qatari Foreign Ministry also left the Egyptian capital on Sunday, two officials briefed on the talks said. Bill Burns, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, met with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Doha on Sunday to discuss getting negotiations back on track, one of the officials said.
On Monday, Hamas’s political leadership will convene in Doha to discuss what has transpired in Cairo over the past two days, but the group intends to continue participating in negotiations with “positive energy,” one of Hamas’s senior officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
A report on Al-Qahera News, an Egyptian state television channel, said a Hamas delegation would return to Cairo on Tuesday, but a senior Hamas official said the group had not yet made a decision.
Peter Baker And Michael Crowley contributed reporting to this article.
