‘Not acting in good faith': Israel and US accuse Hamas of hindering truce efforts
'But if Hamas interprets our willingness to reach a deal as a weakness, as an opportunity to dictate surrender terms that would endanger the State of Israel, it is gravely mistaken.'
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel seeks a Gaza ceasefire, accusing Hamas of blocking progress. Photo / Getty Images
Witkoff accused Hamas of not 'acting in good faith' and said the United States was bringing home its team.
Hamas' response 'clearly shows a lack of desire to reach a ceasefire in Gaza', Witkoff said in a post on social media.
Washington would now 'consider alternative options to bring the hostages home and try to create a more stable environment for the people of Gaza. It is a shame that Hamas has acted in this selfish way,' he added.
A Palestinian source familiar with the talks told AFP earlier that Hamas' response included proposed amendments to clauses on the entry of aid, maps of areas from which the Israeli army should withdraw, and guarantees on securing a permanent end to the war.
Key demands
In Khan Yunis, in Gaza's south, Umm al-Abd Nassar urged Hamas to secure a truce after her son was killed in one of a series of Israeli air strikes that the civil defence agency said killed dozens of civilians.
'They need to do something. Enough with this destruction and people dying,' she told AFP.
Through 21 months of fighting, both sides have clung to long-held positions, preventing two short-lived truces from being converted into a lasting ceasefire.
The talks in Doha began on July 6 to try to reach an agreement on a truce that would also see the release of Israeli hostages.
Of the 251 hostages taken during Hamas' October 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27, the Israeli military says, are dead.
But the talks have dragged on without a breakthrough, with each side blaming the other for refusing to budge on their key demands.
For Israel, dismantling Hamas' military and governing capabilities is non-negotiable, while Hamas demands firm guarantees on a lasting truce, a full withdrawal of Israeli troops, and the free flow of aid into Gaza.
Talks in Qatar have failed to achieve a truce, with both sides holding firm on demands. Photo / Getty Images
'Blockade'
Israel has rejected accusations it is responsible for Gaza's deepening hunger crisis, which the World Health Organisation has called 'man-made' and France blamed on an Israeli 'blockade'.
Instead, it accuses Hamas of preventing supplies from being distributed and looting aid for themselves or to sell at inflated prices as well as shooting at people seeking handouts.
International news organisations, including AFP, urged Israel to allow journalists in and out of Gaza, with concern that a lack of food is putting their lives at risk.
A malnourished 2-year-old child in their damaged home in the Al-Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City. Photo / AFP
Israel maintains it is allowing aid into the Palestinian territory, but that international relief agencies were failing to pick it up for distribution.
Aid agencies have said permissions from Israel are still limited, and coordination to safely move trucks to where they are needed is a major challenge in an active war zone.
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he would hold an 'emergency call' on Friday with France and Germany on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, urging a ceasefire and steps towards Palestinian statehood.
'We will discuss what we can do urgently to stop the killing and get people the food they desperately need while pulling together all the steps necessary to build a lasting peace,' Starmer said in a statement.
'A ceasefire will put us on a path to the recognition of a Palestinian state and a two-state solution which guarantees peace and security for Palestinians and Israelis.'
Israel's military campaign in Gaza has killed 59,587 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
Hamas' October 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
– Agence France-Presse
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