Syria evacuates Bedouins from clashes-hit Suwayda as shaky ceasefire holds
The first Bedouin families left on Monday on buses and trucks accompanied by Syrian Arab Red Crescent vehicles and ambulances. They were taken to nearby Daraa as the government plans to evacuate 1,500 people.
'At least 500 people have already left on 10 buses this morning, and more are expected to exit Suwayda in the next few hours,' Al Jazeera's Mohamed Vall said about noon (09:00 GMT) on Monday in a report from the capital, Damascus.
The clashes between the Druze minority and Bedouin clans, which began on July 13, killed nearly 260 people and threatened to unravel Syria's post-war transition. The violence also displaced 128,571 people, according to the United Nations International Organisation for Migration.
Israel intervened and launched air attacks on Syria's Ministry of Defence buildings in the heart of Damascus. Israeli forces also hit Syrian government forces in Suwayda province, claiming it was protecting the Druze, whom it calls its 'brothers'.Vall said some Bedouin families were evacuating the province voluntarily.
'There are seven districts of Suwayda that are inhabited partly or … mostly by Arab Bedouins, and they are all under threat – or they feel under threat – and some of them are willing to leave [on their own],' he said.
Syrian Interior Minister Ahmad al-Dalati told the SANA news agency that the evacuation process will also allow displaced civilians from Suwayda to return as efforts for a complete ceasefire are under way.
'We have imposed a security cordon in the vicinity of Suwayda to keep it secure and to stop the fighting there,' al-Dalati told the agency. 'This will preserve the path that will lead to reconciliation and stability in the province.'
According to the United Kingdom-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor, the ceasefire agreed on Saturday says the Bedouin fighters will release Druze women they are holding captive and leave the province.
After talks for a captives swap fell through late on Sunday, the observatory and activist groups in Suwayda reported hearing what they said were Israeli air strikes and helicopters over villages where some skirmishes took place between the Bedouins and the Druze.
The Israeli military said it was 'not aware' of any overnight strikes in Syria.
Meanwhile, an initial Syrian Arab Red Crescent convoy entered Suwayda on Sunday, carrying UN humanitarian assistance, including food, water, medical supplies and fuel, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.
Interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has tried to appeal to the Druze community while slamming its factions loyal to spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri who have been involved in the clashes. He promised to hold accountable perpetrators of targeted attacks and other violations.
The Druze minority largely celebrated the downfall in December of the al-Assad family, which ruled Syria for 53 years.
But al-Hijri, who had some allegiance to deposed President Bashar al-Assad in the past, and his supporters have taken a more confrontational approach with al-Sharaa, contrary to most other influential Druze figures.
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The Intercept
an hour ago
- The Intercept
Gaza Humanitarian Foundation Head Boasts Success as Palestinians Starve
On the same day Gaza health officials reported that at least 20 Palestinians died of malnutrition in the Strip's hospitals over the past two days, the American official in charge of delivering food amid Israel's restriction of aid declared his program a success. 'We've been filling a massive gap in a way that's direct to the people, that prioritizes the security of the situation in this very complex environment,' said Johnnie Moore, the chair of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, on Tuesday during an event hosted by the American Jewish Congress and joined by the World Zionist Organization. 'And despite what you may read in the press and the criticism that you hear from the United Nations and other institutions, what we're doing has actually been unbelievably effective.' As Palestinians continue to starve to death in Gaza, Moore, an evangelical minister and former religious adviser to the Trump administration, has spent the past several weeks defending his organization's work. He's appeared on mainstream TV news outlets and in interviews with pro-Israel podcasts. He and his foundation have messaged in lockstep with the Israeli government, as both cast blame on Hamas officials and the international community for a famine of Israel's creation. Israel has blockaded humanitarian aid from entering Gaza since March, when the Israeli government acknowledged it was weaponizing hunger to pressure Hamas into total disarmament — a plan that even U.S. officials have said is untenable. When the GHF took over aid distribution in the Strip in late May, Israeli troops began routinely opening fire on starving Palestinians waiting for food. As of this week, Israeli troops have shot and killed more than 1,000 people trying to get food: 766 near GHF aid sites, and 288 near aid convoys run by the United Nations and other organizations, according to the U.N. Moore repeatedly blamed the U.N. for choosing 'politics … over the needs of these people,' during Tuesday's event. He claimed the U..N had failed to deliver 'thousands upon thousands of pallets' of aid already inside Gaza. The Israeli government has made the same argument in recent weeks, releasing video and photos of supposedly dormant stockpiles to advance a narrative that the U.N.-led system is broken. The Israeli government and GHF have long alleged the U.N. system allowed for Hamas to steal and enrich itself with aid intended for Palestinian civilians. On Tuesday, Moore claimed Hamas would use aid to 'recruit fighters' and would sell the aid in 'the black market to make money.' 'It's shocking to imagine that's being said with a straight face,' said Mara Kronenfeld, executive director of UNRWA USA, referring to Moore's statements. 'This is a narrative that does not at all match the reality and is a very cynical and dark narrative, given how bad the reality is.' Outside of reports that rely solely on anonymous Israeli intelligence sources, such as a recent Washington Post article that alleged Hamas seized 15 percent of goods for its own use, there has been no evidence of widespread theft of aid by Hamas. An aid audit recognized Hamas had been using some aid for revenue, but showed that only 1 percent of aid had been lost to theft. While the Israeli government publicly cried foul about such theft as far back as early 2024, Israeli officials failed to provide evidence of such allegations during confidential briefings with U.S. officials. Despite news reports like the Haaretz investigation in June that Israeli soldiers have been ordered to shoot at unarmed Palestinians waiting for aid, or the July Associated Press story revealing that American contractors guarding the GHF aid sites had fired live ammunition, stun grenades, and tear gas at aid-seeking Palestinians, GHF markets itself as a safer alternative to U.N.-run aid sites. 'We exist so people live,' Moore said during the Tuesday event, while dismissing such reports. 'We don't want a single person to be hurt and certainly not killed trying to seek food. And we do everything in our power to make sure that that doesn't happen. But the way the world is responding to this challenge, this terrible challenge, in the middle of a war is making the situation worse rather than helping solve the issue.' He called reports to the contrary a 'flood of misinformation.' Addressing the chaotic images of desperate Palestinians frantically rushing to sift through boxes of food at its aid sites, Moore said the GHF model is 'far more orderly than' that of the U.N.-led World Food Programme, and said it only appears disorderly to 'the untrained eye.' 'What they are missing is these are human beings.' 'The idea that this is the way you do aid, and only a 'trained eye' could see that, would be true if we were talking about corralling animals into such settings,' Kronenfeld said, adding that the U.N. operated 400 aid sites throughout the Strip to broaden the reach of aid and to prevent such chaotic scenes. 'What they are missing is these are human beings, and the kinds of scenes we are seeing are not fit for human beings, let alone people who've been suffering for 21 months.' GHF has claimed it has delivered nearly 89 million meals in Gaza since it began operations. Moore said a new community distribution model has been 'incredibly successful in getting food more deeply into the Gaza Strip.' But in the months since GHF took over aid distribution in Gaza, hospitals in the Strip have reported sharp increases in malnutrition cases. Doctors Without Borders said among its patients with severe or moderate malnutrition include 700 pregnant and breastfeeding women and nearly 500 children. Aid workers and journalists have also begun to report experiencing severe hunger, including one photographer with Agence France-Presse who quit after he said he was too weak to work. In a letter released Wednesday, more than 100 humanitarian aid organizations urged Israel to end the siege on Gaza and come to a ceasefire, noting that acute malnutrition is especially prevalent among children and older people. 'Illnesses like acute watery diarrhoea are spreading, markets are empty, waste is piling up, and adults are collapsing on the streets from hunger and dehydration,' the letter said. It notes that about 28 trucks of aid per day are allowed into Gaza — a drop from the 600 daily that flowed into the Strip earlier this year amid the temporary ceasefire, which Israel later broke by continuing its bombing campaign. There are 'tons of food, clean water, medical supplies, shelter items and fuel' sitting inside Gaza or at border crossings, the letter argues, but the Israeli government's restrictions have prevented them from accessing and delivering the aid. As of Monday, Israel had deemed 87 percent of the Strip a military zone or put it under evacuation orders, severely straining movement for both aid-seeking Palestinians and aid workers. That territorial creep fits into the far-right Israeli government's broader plans for Gaza: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced plans in May to evacuate Palestinians to the south into a military-controlled 'sterile zone.' Last week, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said he had instructed the military to forcibly displace Gaza's entire population of about 2 million people into a 'humanitarian city,' which would be built atop the ruins of Rafah in southern Gaza, according to The Times of Israel. And Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has long called for the establishment of Jewish settlements in Gaza, continued to push the idea while attending a Knesset conference with other Israeli lawmakers called 'The Gaza Riviera – from vision to reality,' a riff off of U.S. President Donald Trump's proposed plan to take control of the Strip to construct 'the Riviera of the Middle East.' As the writers of the letter argue, 'The UN-led humanitarian system has not failed, it has been prevented from functioning.' However, Israel's blockade has prevented the delivery of other aid, such as medicine, medical supplies, hygiene products, water, fuel, and other essentials. Moore said his organization is prepared to deliver such supplies when called upon, but he continued to blame the U.N. and nongovernmental organizations for their unwillingness to collaborate. The GHF did not immediately respond to The Intercept's request for comment. Anastasia Moran, advocacy director at MedGlobal, a Chicago-based medical aid organization that has teams in Gaza and signed onto the letter, said that it has stockpiles of nutrition treatments, medicine, and other medical supplies sitting at the Gaza border that has been blocked by the Israeli government. Like the remaining hospitals across Gaza, MedGlobal's clinic in Gaza City has seen an increase in severe malnutrition cases, Moran said. Lacking essential supplies, their medical teams have struggled to treat patients, and many have died. 'Every single one of those deaths is preventable.' Moran said at least five infants and toddlers had recently died of malnutrition at MedGlobal's clinic: 3-month-old Mohammed, 4-month-old Nahed, 1.5-year-old Zein, 2-year-old Jouri, and 4.5-year-old Sewar. 'They died for the sole reason that we did not have the essential medications and IV fluids and nutrition treatments that we needed to save their lives,' Moran said. 'Every single one of those deaths is preventable, every single one of those deaths is not the norm of what we've been seeing in Gaza.'
Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
Israel is pushing Gaza into starvation, aid groups say
Israel's war in Gaza, launched in response to Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack, has killed more than 59,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Its count doesn't distinguish between militants and civilians, but the ministry says that more than half of the dead are women and children. Advertisement Here is the latest: European diplomats say EU deal with Israel over Gaza aid is falling short Israel is far behind on its commitments under the new deal with the European Union, frustrating many within the 27-nation bloc, three European diplomats said Wednesday. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive material. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Only 132 aid trucks and 80-120,000 liters of fuel have gotten into Gaza in the week since the deal was reached, two of the diplomats said. Member states are urging the EU to pressure Israel to allow more aid. An internal EU report seen by The Associated Press highlighted concerns that 'there is still no tangible increase, with important stocks of relief items stuck and piling up at the borders.' Details of agreement remain murky, even to EU nations. Palestinian Authority says a teen is killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank The Palestinian Authority's Health Ministry says a 14-year-old Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli forces near Jenin in the northern West Bank. Advertisement Ibrahim Hamran is the second teen to have been killed by Israeli forces in as many days. The ministry said Ibrahim Nasser, 16, was killed near Jenin on Tuesday. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Violence has surged in the Israeli-occupied West Bank during the war in Gaza. White House says Mideast envoy is headed to Europe White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that Witkoff would meet with key leaders from the Middle East to discuss the ceasefire proposal and release of hostages. 'We want this ceasefire to happen as soon as possible and we want these hostages to be released,' Leavitt said. UN says the agency helping Palestinian refugees known UNRWA will soon run out of money Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari told the U.N. Security Council that current forecasts show insufficient funds to sustain operations beyond 2025. UNRWA was established in 1949 to aid Palestinians displaced during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. The agency provides health and education services to around 2.5 million Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, and east Jerusalem, and helps 3 million more in Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric urges donors to contribute, emphasizing the agency's critical role. UN defends humanitarian agency's 'professionalism and impartial work' in Gaza U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric says Israel's actions against the Organization for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs will only hinder efforts to held Palestinians facing hunger and displacement. Earlier, Israel's U.N. ambassador accused OCHA of bias and claimed some staff are linked to Hamas. He also demanded a retraction of the agency head's statement allegedly accusing Israel of genocide. Dujarric clarified that U.N. humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher never made such a statement, and said the U.N. would investigate any evidence Israel provides regarding alleged Hamas affiliations among U.N. staff. Advertisement Israeli strike in central Gaza kills at least 8 and wounds 57 Awda Hospital, which received the casualties, said the strike hit a densely populated part of the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp. Greta Thunberg accuses Israel of genocide and starving Palestinians in Gaza The climate campaigner spoke Wednesday at a small rally in the main square of Albania's capital, Tirana. 'If watching children at being systematically starved, over two million people being systematically starved by Israel, is not enough to motivate you to get out of the couch, then what is it going to take?' Thunberg said. She said the international community is complicit due to its silence regarding Israel's wartime conduct, and called for continuing worldwide protests 'for a free Palestine.' The Israeli military detained Thunberg and 11 other activists last month on board Gaza-bound aid ship that aimed to break Israel's blockade. Palestinians carry sacks of flour unloaded from a humanitarian aid convoy that reached Gaza City from the northern Gaza Strip, Tuesday, July 22, 2025. Jehad Alshrafi/Associated Press Muslim authority removes post accusing Israel of genocide Gaza Egypt's Al-Azhar, a leading authority in Sunni Islam, has deleted a lengthy online post in which it accused Israel of starving Gaza and committing a 'full-scale genocide.' It said that it had 'courageously' removed the post to avoid jeopardizing ongoing ceasefire negotiations. Political and religious authorities across the Arab and Muslim world have condemned Israel's wartime conduct. Egypt, a close U.S. ally that made peace with Israel decades ago, has served as a mediator in long-running ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas. A case has been brought before the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide, and rights groups have lodged similar allegations. Israel vehemently rejects the accusation, calling it a 'blood libel.' UN says war in Gaza is 'catastrophic' for new mothers and babies The United Nations agency for reproductive health says new data shows a major decline in births and a rise in maternal deaths in the Gaza Strip. UNFPA says 17,000 births were recorded in the first half of this year, down 41 percent from the corresponding period in 2022. It also showed 220 stillbirths, more than 20 times the number recorded three years ago, before the Israel-Hamas war. Advertisement It says 33 percent of babies – around 5,560 – were born prematurely, underweight or required intensive care. 'The scale of suffering for new mothers and their babies in Gaza is beyond comprehension,' said Laila Baker, Regional Director for the Arab States at UNFPA. The war has gutted Gaza's health system, with several hospitals having shut down or reduced their operations because of Israeli raids and lack of medical supplies. Israel's parliament backs symbolic motion to annex the West Bank Knesset lawmakers voted 71-13 in favor of the measure, which calls for 'applying Israeli sovereignty to Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley,' the biblical terms for the area. The motion, advanced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition, is declarative and has no direct legal implications, although it could place the issue of annexation on the agenda of future debates in the parliament. Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war, along with the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem. The Palestinians want all three for a future state. Some 3 million Palestinians and over 500,000 Jewish settlers live in the West Bank. Annexation of the West Bank could make it impossible to create a viable Palestinian state alongside Israel, which is seen internationally as the only realistic way to resolve the conflict. Last year, the Israeli parliament approved a similar symbolic motion declaring opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state. Smoke billows from an explosion in the northern Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel Wednesday, July 23, 2025. Ohad Zwigenberg/Associated Press Israel's ambassador accuses UN humanitarian agency of 'bias' Israel has accused the United Nations' humanitarian agency of 'bias' and 'defamation' in Gaza and announced new actions Israel's U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon told the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday that hundreds of employees of the Organization for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, known as OCHA, are now undergoing security vetting. Advertisement He claimed Israel has uncovered 'clear evidence of Hamas affiliations within OCHA's ranks' and said 'key employees' will not have their permits renewed, and international staff will have their visas cut to just one month. Danon accused UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher of abandoning 'his sacred responsibility to act without bias' and demanded that he retract his statement 'that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.' He said Jonathan Whittall, who heads OCHA in the Palestinian territories, must leave Israel by July 29 because of alleged bias against Israel. OCHA spokeswoman Eri Kaneko said: 'Any reduction of our own staff will stifle our already curtailed efforts to reach civilians across Gaza in urgent need of life-saving humanitarian aid.' WHO warns Gaza nears starvation as malnutrition spikes The head of the World Health Organization warned that over 2 million people in Gaza face starvation, citing a 'deadly surge' in malnutrition and related diseases. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said acute malnutrition centers in Gaza are full of patients, but lack adequate supplies. He said that rates of acute malnutrition exceed 10 percent and that among pregnant and breastfeeding women, more than 20 percent are malnourished, often severely. 'The hunger crisis is being accelerated by the collapse of aid pipelines,' Tedros said, adding that 95 percent of households in Gaza face severe water shortages. Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, the WHO representative for Occupied Palestinian Territories, said there were more than 30,000 children under 5 with acute malnutrition in Gaza so far this year, and that there had been 21 deaths. He noted that many of the U.N. health agency's supplies were destroyed after its main warehouse was destroyed during attacks in Deir al-Balah on Sunday. Advertisement Israel says Gaza starvation warnings are 'propaganda' Israel's Foreign Ministry accused the groups of 'echoing Hamas' propaganda.' It said it has allowed around 4,500 aid trucks to enter Gaza since lifting a complete blockade in May, and that more than 700 are waiting to be picked up and distributed by the United Nations. That's an average of around 70 trucks a day, the lowest rate of the war and far below the 500-600 trucks a day the U.N. says are needed, and which entered during a six-week ceasefire earlier this year. The U.N. says it has struggled to deliver aid inside Gaza because of Israeli military restrictions, ongoing fighting, and a breakdown of law and order. In the letter issued Wednesday, 115 human rights and charity groups said they were watching their own colleagues, as well as the Palestinians they serve, 'waste away.' A woman throws flour, as she protests outside the Egyptian Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, July 23, 2025, during a demonstration against the Israeli war and what they say starvation of civilians in the Gaza Strip. Hussein Malla/Associated Press Israeli official to meet US envoy in Rome An official familiar with ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas said a top adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Ron Dermer, was traveling to Rome to meet US special envoy Steve Witkoff on Thursday to discuss the state of the talks. The official spoke Wednesday on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the sensitive negotiations. US officials said Witkoff planned to head to Europe this week. The US State Department spokesperson said he was headed to the Middle East in a sign that momentum may be building toward a deal. Israeli military says Gaza church was struck accidentally The Holy Family Church in Gaza City was struck last week by an Israeli shell, an attack that killed three, wounded 10 and damaged the church's compound. The military said an internal inquiry found the church was hit after an 'unintentional deviation of munitions.' The strike drew condemnation from Pope Leo XIV and US President Trump, and prompted statements of regret from Israel. Holy Family is the only Catholic church in Gaza. Top church leaders from the Holy Land visited the site a day after the incident and said they encountered a Gaza 'almost totally destroyed.' Houthi attacks on Red Sea vessels are war crimes, rights group says The Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen attacked two ships, the Magic Seas and the Eternity C, on July 6 and 9, killing some of their crew and detaining others, Human Rights Watch said in a statement. The rebels have been launching missile and drone attacks against commercial and military ships in the region in what the group's leadership has described as an effort to end Israel's offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. HRW, however, said the Houthis' attacks on the two vessels 'violates the laws of war applicable to the armed conflict between the Houthis and Israel.' 'The Houthis have sought to justify unlawful attacks by pointing to Israeli violations against Palestinians,' said Niku Jafarnia, HRW's Yemen and Bahrain researcher. Jafarnia called for the rebels to end all attacks on ships that don't take part in the Israeli-Hamas war and immediately release detained crew members. Detention of a senior Gaza health official is extended Dr. Marwan al-Hams, acting director of Gaza's field hospitals and the Health Ministry's spokesman, was detained by Israeli soldiers earlier this week in the Palestinian territory. Alaa al-Sakafi, head of Addameer, a Palestinian rights group, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that lawyers have not been allowed to see al-Hams. His detention in a southern Israel prison was extended until the end of the month, al-Sakafi said. He said al-Hams suffered from a gunshot wound in his leg, which he sustained during his detention in Gaza's southern city of Rafah on Monday. Israel has not commented on al-Hams' detention. Israeli forces 'deepening' activity in Gaza City The Israeli military said in a statement Wednesday that forces were operating in Gaza City, as well as in northern Gaza. It said without elaborating that in Jabaliya, an area hard-hit in multiple rounds of fighting, an air strike killed 'a number of' Hamas militants. Troops struck roughly 120 targets throughout Gaza over the past day, including militant cells, tunnels and booby-trapped structures, among others, the military said. Overnight strikes kill at least 21 More than half of those killed were women and children, health authorities said. One Israeli strike hit a house Tuesday in the northwestern side of Gaza City, killing at least 12 people, according to the Shifa Hospital, which received the casualties. The dead included six children and two women, according to the Health Ministry's casualty list. Another strike hit an apartment in the Tal al-Hawa area in northern Gaza, killing at least six people. Among the dead were three children and two women, including one who was pregnant. Eight others were wounded, the ministry said. A third strike hit a tent in the Naser neighborhood in Gaza City late Tuesday and killed three children, Shifa Hospital said. The Israeli military said it struck an Islamic Jihad militant in the strike that killed 12, saying the incident was under review because of reports of civilian casualties. It had no immediate comment about the other strikes. Israel blames Hamas for civilian casualties because the militants operate from populated areas. This is a locator map of Israel and the Palestinian Territories. Uncredited/Associated Press Human rights groups and charities demand more Gaza aid In the letter issued Wednesday, 115 human rights and charity groups warned of a dire situation pushing more people toward starvation. They said they were watching their own colleagues, as well as the Palestinians they serve, 'waste away.' The letter slammed Israel for what it said were restrictions on aid into the war-ravaged territory. It lamented 'massacres' at food distribution points, which have seen chaos and violence in recent weeks as desperation has risen. 'The government of Israel's restrictions, delays, and fragmentation under its total siege have created chaos, starvation, and death,' the letter said. The letter called for aid to be scaled up as well as for a ceasefire. ` Israel says that it has allowed the entry of thousands of trucks since May and blames aid groups for not consistently delivering goods.
Axios
an hour ago
- Axios
Gaza ceasefire talks in limbo as Israel recalls negotiators
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced he's recalling Israel's negotiators from Doha after Hamas made new demands in response to the latest Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal proposal. Why it matters: The breakdown came as White House envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Italy for talks on Gaza with Qatari and Israeli officials. Witkoff hoped to then travel to Doha to seal the deal for a 60-day ceasefire this week. An Israeli official said the decision to recall the negotiators was made to try and "shake up" the negotiations and put additional pressure on Hamas to agree to the proposal, which also calls for the release of 10 live hostages and 18 deceased hostages. The Israeli official stressed that the talks "did not collapse." But it's not yet clear whether this will lead to a significant pause in the negotiations. Behind the scenes: Hamas demanded that the number of Palestinian prisoners released in exchange for the hostages be increased, according to a senior Israeli official and a source familiar with the details. Qatari mediators had asked Hamas not to reopen that issue. When they did, Israeli officials reacted angrily. What they're saying:"In light of Hamas' response to the proposal" it's been decided to recall the negotiating team for further consultations in Israel, Netanyahu's office said in a statement. "We appreciate the efforts of the mediators, Qatar and Egypt, and the efforts of White House envoy Steve Witkoff to achieve a breakthrough in the talks." Breaking it down: The Qatari and Egyptian mediators gave an updated proposal to both Israel and Hamas one week ago. Israel accepted the proposal. After an initial delay, Hamas gave a response on Tuesday, but the Egyptian and Qatari mediators said it was not good enough and refused to deliver it to the Israelis, three sources with direct knowledge say. On Thursday morning, Hamas delivered a new and more detailed response. Israeli officials say it was better than the previous one, but still created significant gaps between the parties, particularly on the prisoners issue. Zoom in: Hamas demanded that Israel release 200 Palestinians serving life sentences for killing Israelis, rather than the 125 included in the proposal, and 2,000 Palestinians detained in Gaza after October 7, rather than the proposed 1,200, the sources say.
