According to the source, Hamas appears to believe time is on its side. “But on the battlefield, they will find that it’s not,” the official warned.
Despite nearly two weeks of talks in the Qatari capital, several key issues remain unresolved. These include the scope and delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, the deployment of Israeli forces in the enclave and how negotiations will proceed during the proposed 60-day ceasefire period. Additionally, the source said, “we haven’t yet entered discussions over the identity of the hostages to be released.”
Just hours earlier, officials familiar with the details of an overnight meeting of the Security Cabinet had expressed cautious optimism that a deal was approaching. In recent days, Netanyahu was reported to have shown significant flexibility regarding a withdrawal, and now everything hinges on Hamas and its response to the proposal and the maps presented to it.
“Any notion that we will return to the lines of January 19 or March 2 has no basis—we will not return to those lines,” a senior Israeli official said Thursday evening, referring to lines held by the IDF before the previous ceasefire collapsed. “We’ve been working here continuously for about two weeks. Over the past week, a new communications channel has opened in Cairo on humanitarian issues, and on some of these, we’ve made progress. There is also strong American involvement.”
Unlike previous rounds of talks, the source added, “We came here with a mandate and operational flexibility. The prime minister and [Strategic Affairs] Minister [Ron] Dermer are in daily contact with us.” He said Israel’s flexibility was not being matched by Hamas, whose refusal to engage raised doubts. “We question how serious they are.”
According to the official, Hamas’ rejectionism is not limited to the issue of prisoners. “As soon as Hamas opens the door, we’ll be able to make further progress. But since we’ve moved on to other issues, we’ve encountered stalling and obstruction that are preventing the talks from advancing.”
3 View gallery
Khalil al-Khayya, Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu
(Photo: SkcJicnokl, AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana, REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/Pool, Alex Kolomoisky)
The official emphasized that while Israel enjoys full American backing, Hamas has none. “The mediators’ proposal landed at 2 a.m., and we’re reviewing it. There has been progress regarding deployment lines. We’ve shown flexibility throughout the past several days. We keep saying yes, but Hamas hasn’t responded.”
Meanwhile, two Hamas officials told Reuters there was still no agreement on key issues and no breakthrough had been achieved. According to them, disputes remain over the withdrawal maps presented by Israel, mechanisms for delivering aid to Gaza and guarantees that a ceasefire would lead to an end to the war.
