Trump and Netanyahu turn back on Gaza ceasefire talks

US and Israel blame Hamas for failed talks as UN says many Gazans 'not eating for days'

Palestinians gather to receive food from a charity distribution point in Gaza city. Bloomberg

The US and Israel appeared to abandon talks on a Gaza ceasefire on Friday, with both countries' leaders blaming Hamas for the failure to reach a deal.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the two allies were "considering alternative options" to bring hostages home and end Hamas's rule of Gaza. "Hamas is the obstacle to a hostage release deal," he said.

US President Donald Trump said Hamas did not want a deal, after negotiators spent weeks studying proposals for a 60-day truce and staggered release of hostages.

"It was too bad. Hamas didn't really want to make a deal. I think they want to die," Mr Trump said. Asked about the next steps, he said: “I think what’s going to happen is they’re going to be hunted down.”

Both Israel and US envoy Steve Witkoff said on Thursday they were withdrawing negotiators from Qatar, which along with the US and Egypt had been mediating between the combatants.

Senior Hamas official Basem Naim said the talks had been constructive and accused Mr Witkoff of exerting pressure on Israel's behalf. "What we have presented - with full awareness and understanding of the complexity of the situation - we believe could lead to a deal if the enemy had the will to reach one," he said.

US President Donald Trump said he believed Hamas did not want a deal. EPA

It wasn't clear what Israel's "alternative options" might be. Its top general Lt Gen Eyal Zamir recently said that if no deal were reached, troops would be instructed to "intensify and expand combat operations as much as possible".

A deal had appeared close at times during the weeks of negotiations, as pressure ramps up on Israel to call off a siege of Gaza blamed for causing starvation in the strip.

Hundreds of aid lorries were entering Gaza every day during a previous truce agreed in January. But the Israeli army resumed its offensive in Gaza in March and tightly controls entry in and out of the strip.

Almost a third of people in Gaza are now "not eating for days", the UN's World Food Programme told AFP on Friday, as it warned the crisis has reached "new and astonishing levels of desperation".

"Nearly one person in three is not eating for days. Malnutrition is surging with 90,000 women and children in urgent need of treatment," a statement from the organisation said.

Israel's top general has said troops would be instructed to expand combat operations if there is no ceasefire deal. AFP

Gaza's Health Ministry said on Friday that hospitals had recorded nine more starvation deaths in the space of 24 hours, bringing the total to 113. Israel rejects the death toll as Hamas propaganda and says there is plenty of aid inside Gaza that UN aid workers not delivered. They in turn say Israel is putting obstacles in the way.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Friday slammed global powers for ignoring the plight of Palestinians facing starvation in Gaza, calling the crisis a “moral failure” that exposes a breakdown in global solidarity.

“I cannot explain the level of indifference and inaction we see by too many in the international community, the lack of compassion, the lack of truth, the lack of humanity,” Mr Guterres said in a video address to Amnesty International’s global assembly.

As pressure grows to find a way to peace, French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Thursday that his country would recognize Palestine as a state. Arab countries praised Mr Macron's decision but it drew sharp criticism from the US and Israel.