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Gaza ceasefire talks in Cairo and Doha are deadlocked, crushing hopes that a deal was within reach to end the war in the Palestinian territory, sources close to the negotiations told The National on Wednesday.
Negotiations have been suspended in the Egyptian and Qatari capitals after mediators failed to narrow the gaps between Israel and Hamas over key issues, including the list of Palestinian prisoners the militant group wants freed from Israeli jails in exchange for the release of hostages seized from Israel last year, the sources said.
Another stumbling block was Israel's reluctance to commit to a timetable for withdrawal from the narrow strip on the Palestinian side of the Egypt-Gaza border and Hamas' insistence on a guarantee from the US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators that negotiations on a permanent ceasefire and full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza would continue after the hostage-prisoner swap is completed.
Hamas delegates have already left Cairo after meetings with Egyptian officials over the past week, and a team of Israeli negotiators has flown home from Doha, according to the sources.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Hamas said Israel had set new conditions on the withdrawal of troops, the ceasefire, the hostages-for-prisoners swap and the return of displaced people, which delayed reaching an agreement.
However, it added, negotiations are proceeding in Doha with Qatari and Egyptian mediation "in a serious manner", and the group has shown "responsibility and flexibility."
Israel refuted the Hamas allegations, saying it was the Palestinian militant group that was creating "new obstacles" to an agreement.
"The terrorist organisation Hamas is once again lying, reneging on understandings already reached, and continuing to create new obstacles in the negotiations," said a statement from the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The sources said Hamas refused to present mediators with a full list of the hostages still alive, and is insisting that Israel free all 200 of the Palestinians serving long jail terms that it wants released.
Earlier this week, the sources said Israel had rejected 70 of the names on the list after Hamas had agreed to Israel's condition that the freed prisoners should leave the Palestinian territories and live in exile abroad with their families.
“Hamas's latest positions reflect its interpretation of what it sees on the ground in Gaza, like the near total destruction Israel is administering in northern Gaza and the security infrastructure it's installing in different parts of the strip. To Hamas, it all looks like Israel is not leaving anytime soon,” said one source.
“It has told Egypt and Qatar over the past 48 hours that it has no intention of budging on its demands for a complete withdrawal and a permanent ceasefire,” the source added, explaining that the group's latest position in effect rolls back the flexibility it had shown earlier that raised hopes of a truce being agreed.
The sources said this has caused friction with Egyptian and Qatari mediators. They gave no details, but US president-elect Donald Trump's vow that there will be “hell to pay” if the hostages are not freed before his inauguration next month has been hanging over the talks.
Reflecting the cautious optimism over the latest talks, Mr Netanyahu told lawmakers on Monday that “some progress” had been made in the negotiations. His comments came two days after Hamas and two allied groups – Islamic Jihad and the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – also said progress had been made.
“The possibility of reaching an agreement is closer than ever, provided the enemy stops imposing new conditions,” the three groups said.
The US, Egypt and Qatar have been trying for more than a year to end the 14-month-old Gaza war and secure the release of the hostages. The only truce they successfully negotiated was for about a week in November last year, when Hamas released about 100 Israeli and other hostages.
Hamas took about 250 hostages when it attacked southern Israel in October last year, killing about 1,200 people and causing a devastating military response by Israel that has to date killed more than 45,300 Palestinians and injured more than twice that number, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Israel's military believes Hamas is still holding about 100 Israeli and other hostages, of whom about 40 have died in captivity. Hamas has never publicly said how many hostages it is holding or given information on their condition.
“Everything we are doing cannot be disclosed. We are taking actions to bring them back. I wish to say cautiously that there has been some progress, and we will not stop acting until we bring them all home,” Mr Netanyahu told the Israeli parliament on Monday.
Mr Netanyahu has repeatedly said he would not end the war until Hamas' military and governance capabilities are eradicated and the hostages are freed.
“I'm not going to agree to end the war before we remove Hamas,” he told the Wall Street Journal last week. Israel, he added, is “not going to leave them in power in Gaza, 30 miles from Tel Aviv. It's not going to happen”.
