Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – Indirect talks between Hamas and Israel for a ceasefire in Gaza are being held up by Israel’s proposals to keep troops in the territory, two Palestinian sources with knowledge of the discussions told AFP on Saturday.
Delegations from both sides began discussions in Qatar last Sunday to try to agree on a temporary halt […].
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.
Another 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.
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.
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”.
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 second Palestinian source said “some progress” had been made in the latest talks on plans for releasing Palestinian prisoners held by Israel and getting more aid to Gaza.
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.
That included the group giving up weapons, he said, warning that failure to do so would mean Israel would have to do so by force.