TOPSHOT – A woman stands holding a child surrounded by the rubble of a building destroyed during an Israeli bombardment in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on June 23, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Eyad Baba Afp | Getty Images
Gaza ceasefire talks in Doha were halted on Friday with negotiators set to meet again next week to seek an agreement to end the fighting between Israel and Hamas and the remaining hostages, mediators said.
In a joint statement, the United States, Qatar and Egypt said Washington has presented a new proposal that builds on the point of agreement over the past week, closing the gap between the sides in a way that can allow the rapid implementation of the deal.
Mediators will continue to work on the proposal in the coming days, he said.
“The path is now set for that outcome, saving lives, bringing relief to the people of Gaza, and reducing regional tensions,” he said in the statement.
Israeli officials said the delegation in Doha will return home on Friday and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday.
The latest round in months of talks to end the war in Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, began between Israel and mediators on Thursday. The Palestinian militant group Hamas was not directly involved in the talks but was kept informed of progress.
Signature points have included Israel’s insistence that peace will only be possible if Hamas is destroyed, and Hamas says it will only accept a permanent, rather than a temporary, ceasefire.
Other difficulties include the order of the deal, the number and identity of Palestinian prisoners to be released along with the Israeli hostages, control of the border between Gaza and Egypt, and free movement for Palestinians in Gaza.
Overnight, Israeli forces struck targets in tiny, crowded Gaza and issued new orders for people to leave areas previously designated as civilian safe zones Hamas said had been used to fire mortars and rockets into Israel.
The conflict began on October 7 when Hamas fighters attacked Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages according to Israeli counts.
Israel’s military campaign has reduced much of Gaza to rubble and killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to Palestinian health authorities. Israel says it has eliminated 17,000 Hamas fighters.
Regional fear
In his final statement on Thursday, Hamas politburo member Hossam Badran said Israel’s continued operations were an obstacle to progress in the ceasefire.
The Israeli delegation included spy chief David Barnea, domestic security service chief Ronen Bar and military hostage chief Nitzan Alon, defense officials said.
The White House sent CIA Director Bill Burns and US Middle East envoy Brett McGurk. Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Egypt’s intelligence chief Abbas Kamel also attended.
The negotiations took place in the shadow of a feared regional escalation, with Iran threatening to retaliate against Israel after the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31.
With US warships, submarines and fighter jets deployed to the region to defend Israel and deter potential attackers, Washington hopes a cease-fire agreement in Gaza could reduce the risk of a wider war.
Republican US presidential candidate Donald Trump said on Thursday he had told Netanyahu during their last meeting in July to quickly end the Gaza war, but the former president also criticized demands for a ceasefire.
“He knows what he’s doing, I encourage him to get it done,” Trump told reporters at a news conference on Thursday. “You have to hurry… Get the victory and finish it. It has to stop, the killing has to stop.”
Netanyahu’s and Trump’s offices both denied on Thursday an Axios report that said they had spoken the previous day about a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release talks.
The White House said attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinian civilians in the West Bank are “unacceptable and must stop” after dozens of settlers attacked a village, killing at least one person.
