Israel has decided to send a delegation to Qatar on Sunday for proximity talks with Hamas on the latest proposal for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal.
Late on Saturday, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement that “the changes that Hamas is seeking to make” to the ceasefire proposal were “unacceptable to Israel”.
On Friday, before he was briefed on Hamas’s response, he said it was “good” that the group was positive and that “there could be a Gaza deal next week”.
The families of Israeli hostages and Palestinians in Gaza will also once again be holding their breath.
Please don’t stop, please make a ‘big beautiful hostages deal’,” he said.
Israel has chosen to dispatch a delegation to Qatar on Sunday in order to hold close discussions with Hamas regarding the most recent proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza and an agreement to free the hostages.
In spite of what he called the “unacceptable” modifications that Hamas sought to make to a plan that was presented by mediators from Qatar, the United States, and Egypt, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accepted the invitation, according to his office.
Hamas declared on Friday evening that it was prepared for talks after delivering a “positive response” to the 60-day ceasefire proposal.
A Palestinian official, however, stated that the group had requested changes, such as a promise that if negotiations for a permanent truce were unsuccessful, fighting would not resume.
The health ministry, which is run by Hamas, reported on Sunday that 80 victims of Israeli attacks had reached hospitals in Gaza in the past day.
According to a hospital in the neighboring city of Khan Younis, tents in the al-Mawasi area were bombed on Saturday, killing seven people, including a doctor and his three children.
According to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a controversial aid distribution organization supported by the US and Israel, two American staff members were injured in what it claimed was a grenade attack at its location in the Khan Younis region on Saturday.
Hamas, which has not responded, was blamed by both the US and Israeli governments.
According to a statement released late Saturday by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, “the changes that Hamas is seeking to make” to the ceasefire proposal were “unacceptable to Israel.”.
However, it also stated: “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered that the invitation to proximity talks be accepted and that the contacts for the return of our hostages—based on the Qatari proposal that Israel has accepted—be continued in light of an assessment of the situation. Tomorrow, the negotiating team will depart. “.
In the past, an Israeli official had told local media that Hamas’ response had “something to work with.”.
It will probably be difficult for mediators to fill in the remaining gaps during the indirect negotiations in Doha.
US President Donald Trump, who has been boosting the likelihood of an agreement in recent days, will be closely monitoring them.
On Friday, he stated that “there could be a Gaza deal next week” and that it was “good” that Hamas was responding positively before being briefed on the group’s response.
It is obvious that Trump would really like to be able to announce a major breakthrough when he meets with Netanyahu on Monday.
Additionally, the families of Palestinians in Gaza and Israeli hostages will once again be holding their breath.
Thousands of supporters and the relatives of the hostages gathered at a rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday night to demand a comprehensive agreement that would bring all of the hostages home.
Yechiel Yehoud was one of the people who talked. During the previous ceasefire, which Trump assisted in negotiating prior to his election and which broke down when Israel recommenced its offensive in March, his daughter Arbel Yehoud was freed from captivity.
“We appreciate you returning our Arbel to us, President Trump. Because of you, we will always be indebted. Make a ‘big beautiful hostages deal,’ please,” he said, urging them to continue.
The U.S. president announced on Tuesday that Israel had agreed to the “necessary conditions” for a 60-day ceasefire, during which time the parties would try to bring the conflict to an end.
According to reports, the plan calls for the bodies of 18 other hostages and the gradual release of 10 Israeli hostages who are still alive by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners detained in Israeli prisons.
At least 20 of the 50 hostages still in captivity in Gaza are thought to be alive.
According to reports, the proposal also states that the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross would be involved in ensuring that enough aid entered Gaza right away.
Hamas is demanding that aid be distributed only by the United Nations and its partners, and that the GHF’s operations cease immediately, a senior Palestinian official familiar with the negotiations told the BBC on Friday.
The official said that Hamas also wanted an amendment regarding Israeli troop withdrawals.
According to reports, the US plan calls for Israel to withdraw from some areas of Gaza gradually. However, the official stated that Hamas wanted troops to retake the positions they had before Israel’s offensive resumed in March, when the previous ceasefire broke down.
The official added that even if the ceasefire ended without a permanent truce, Hamas also sought a US assurance that Israeli air and ground operations would not resume.
According to the proposal, mediators will ensure that serious talks begin right away and that they have the authority to prolong the ceasefire if needed.
Until all hostages are freed and Hamas’s military and political capabilities are destroyed, the Israeli prime minister has stated that the war will not end.
His cabinet members on the far right have also voiced their disapproval of the proposed agreement.
On Saturday, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir stated that the “full conquest of the Gaza Strip, a complete halt to so-called ‘humanitarian’ aid, and the encouragement of emigration” of the Palestinian population were the only ways to ensure the return of the hostages.
About 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage in the October 7, 2023, attack in Gaza, which prompted the Israeli military to launch a campaign.
Since then, the health ministry run by Hamas in Gaza has reported at least 57,338 deaths.
