Talks between Israel and Hamas to bring about a ceasefire and hostages-for-prisoners deal are “on the brink of collapsing,” Politico reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed US and Israeli officials.
The US outlet said this has led to growing concern that the negotiations will fail.
One of the sources was quoted as saying, “We don’t know if [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar wants this deal.
The report said US officials were still hopeful Hamas may abruptly accept the deal, citing past instances in which it spontaneously agreed to truce deals after publicly opposing them.
However, the problem is that both sides disagree on several details of the US’s latest bridging proposal, the report said.
Hamas terrorists abducted 251 people from Israel during their October 7 surprise attack in which they also murdered some 1,200 people, mostly civilians.
It is believed that 105 hostages remain in Gaza, including the bodies of 34 confirmed dead by the IDF.
While the US expressed optimism when the talks ended, there has been little to no progress this week.
According to Politico, which cited unidentified US and Israeli officials, talks between Israel and Hamas to broker a ceasefire and a hostages-for-prison agreement are “on the brink of collapsing.”.
Though the White House has publicly expressed optimism, the officials said that despite Hamas’ hardline rhetoric against the latest proposal, which is endorsed by Israel, efforts to get the terror group on board have not succeeded thus far.
According to the US outlet, this has increased people’s anxiety that the talks won’t succeed.
“We don’t know if [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar wants this deal,” one of the sources was cited as saying. However, there’s a chance that Iran will attack and this will turn into a full-fledged conflict if we don’t reach a deal. “.
With Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas, killed in Tehran on July 31, the Middle East has been waiting for Iran’s promised retaliation. Israel has not denied or confirmed that it was responsible for the murder.
According to the report, US officials were still holding out hope that Hamas would suddenly agree to the deal, citing previous instances in which it had agreed to truce agreements on its own initiative after openly opposing them.
But the issue, according to the report, is that there are differences between the two sides regarding a number of specifics in the US’s most recent bridge proposal.
Israel and Hamas are still at odds, according to Politico, over how many hostages should be freed and Israel’s continued presence in the Philadelphi Corridor, a region that runs along the Gaza-Egypt border and is used by Hamas to smuggle in weapons and parts for them.
Israel won’t completely withdraw from the border, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, since doing so would enable the terrorist organization to reassemble.
Politico requested comment from the National Security Council and the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C.
During their surprise attack on October 7, the terrorists from Hamas abducted 251 people from Israel and killed approximately 1,200 people, the majority of whom were civilians. Since the Hamas attack, which prompted Israel to invade the Palestinian enclave on foot with the declared goal of overthrowing Hamas and rescuing the hostages, the conflict in Gaza has lasted for more than ten months.
It’s estimated that 105 hostages are still in Gaza, including the 34 whose bodies the IDF has confirmed are dead.
Following the collapse of a short-lived week-long ceasefire in November, Egypt, Qatar, and the US have been mediating between Israel and Hamas in an attempt to reach a new agreement that would see hostages traded for Israeli-incarcerated Palestinian prisoners and a ceasefire.
In recent months, negotiations have been centered around an outline presented by US President Joe Biden at the end of May. This outline called for three stages: during the first six weeks, there would be no ground operations in Israel and a troop withdrawal from the country in exchange for the release of 33 hostages who fall into the categories of women, children, the elderly, and wounded, as well as the release of 990 Palestinian prisoners.
A new round of talks was held in Doha last week as discussions over the outline have been stuck repeatedly; US and Israeli officials warned that this could be the last opportunity to strike a deal. Although the United States voiced hope at the conclusion of the negotiations, little to no progress has been made this week.
