US ends Hamas talks and considers ‘alternative options’ to free hostages

Israel also recalls negotiating team for 'consultations' after Hamas delivers new proposal

Palestinians make their way along Al Rashid Street in western Jabalia after receiving humanitarian aid from a distribution point in northern Gaza. AFP

The US and Israel recalled negotiators from Qatar on Thursday after the latest discussions with Hamas failed to yield a ceasefire deal.

The US special envoy Steve Witkoff said the US is now considering “alternative options” to liberate the remaining hostages after he accused Hamas of failing to act in "good faith".

“We have decided to bring our team home from Doha for consultations after the latest response from Hamas, which clearly shows a lack of desire to reach a ceasefire in Gaza,” Mr Witkoff said in a statement. "It is a shame that Hamas has acted in this selfish way."

He added that the US would now consider alternative options to bring the hostages home and "try to create a more stable environment for the people of Gaza". Mr Witkoff did not provide any additional details.

Earlier, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said it too was bringing negotiators home. "In light of the response Hamas provided this morning, it has been decided to return the negotiating team to continue consultations in Israel", the office said.

Hamas didn't say what that response was, but negotiators have been studying maps presented by Israel of where its troops might remain posted in Gaza. Mediators have been shuttling between Israeli and Hamas negotiators in Qatar for more than two weeks but the indirect talks have so far failed to yield a truce.

Separate talks had been scheduled in Rome on Thursday between Mr Witkoff, Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, sources told The National.

The sources said one of the issues at the top of the agenda in Rome was US and Israeli guarantees that Hamas leaders who leave the enclave with their families will not be pursued in exile. They will also discuss the period of time they will need to spend living abroad before being able to return to Gaza.

Ceasefire talks had also centred on proposed release of several high-profile Palestinians held in Israeli jails as part of the deal. Hamas had also called on Israel to release the bodies of the group's late leader Yahya Sinwar and other top officials killed by Israel during the 21-month-old war.

The sources said Hamas’s demand for a long-term ceasefire was no longer on the table. Instead, the US had moved to guarantee at least one equal extension of the 60-day truce when it expires to allow for more discussions on the political and security arrangements in Gaza after the war.

Israeli army video shows aid meant for Gazans piling up at border crossing

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Hamas has already said it would not be part of governing or rebuilding Gaza and suggested it was open to laying down its arms and storing them under international supervision when a long-term ceasefire is in effect.

Both sides are facing huge pressure at home and abroad to reach an agreement, with the humanitarian conditions inside Gaza deteriorating sharply amid widespread acute hunger that has shocked the world.

A senior Israeli official was quoted by local media as saying the new Hamas response was something Israel could work with. However, Israel's Channel 12 said a rapid deal was not in reach, with gaps remaining between the two sides including over where the Israeli army should withdraw to during any truce.

Palestinians gather to receive food from a charity kitchen in Gaza city. Reuters

A Palestinian official close to the talks told Reuters the latest Hamas position was “flexible, positive and took into consideration the growing suffering in Gaza and the need to stop the starvation”.

The Gaza war was sparked when Hamas attacked communities in southern Israel in October 2023, killing 1,200 and taking another 250 hostage. Israel's response has been a devastating military campaign that has to date killed close to 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.

Most of Gaza's estimated 2.2 million residents have been displaced by the war, more than once in many cases, and large built-up areas have been reduced to rubble.

If the latest round of negotiations yields a truce, it would be the third ceasefire since the war began. A two-month break in the fighting collapsed on March 18, when Israel resumed military operations, killing some 400 people on the first day. A week-long truce ended on December 1, 2023.