Gaza ceasefire talks held up by Israel withdrawal plans: Palestinian sources
Delegations from both sides began discussions in Qatar last Sunday to try to agree on a temporary halt to the 21-month conflict sparked by Hamas' attack on Israel on Oct 7, 2023.
Both Hamas and Israel have said that 10 living hostages who were taken that day and who are still in captivity would be released if an agreement for a 60-day ceasefire were reached.
But one well-informed Palestinian source said Israel's refusal to withdraw all of its troops from Gaza was holding back progress on securing a deal.
"The negotiations in Doha are facing a setback and complex difficulties due to Israel's insistence, as of Friday, on presenting a map of withdrawal, which is actually a map of redeployment and repositioning of the Israeli army rather than a genuine withdrawal," the source said.
Hamas has said it wants the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, which is home to more than two million people.
The source said, however, that the Israeli delegation presented a map at the talks which proposed maintaining military forces in more than 40 per cent of the Palestinian territory.
"Hamas' delegation will not accept the Israeli maps ... as they essentially legitimise the reoccupation of approximately half of the Gaza Strip and turn Gaza into isolated zones with no crossings or freedom of movement," the source added.
Mediators have asked both sides to postpone the talks until the arrival of US President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, in Doha, they added.
A second Palestinian source said "some progress" had been made on plans for releasing Palestinian prisoners and getting more aid to Gaza.
But they accused the Israeli delegation of having no authority, and "stalling and obstructing the agreement in order to continue the war of extermination".
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AsiaOne
6 hours ago
- AsiaOne
Gaza truce talks faltering over withdrawal; 17 reported killed in latest shooting near aid, World News
CAIRO/JERUSALEM/GAZA - Progress is stalling at talks aimed at securing a ceasefire in Gaza, with the sides divided over the extent of Israeli forces' withdrawal from the Palestinian enclave, Palestinian and Israeli sources familiar with the negotiations in Doha said on Saturday (July 12). The indirect talks over a US proposal for a 60-day ceasefire continued throughout Saturday, an Israeli official told Reuters, seven days since talks began. US President Donald Trump has said he hoped for a breakthrough soon based on a new US-backed ceasefire proposal. In Gaza, medics said 17 people trying to get food aid were killed on Saturday when Israeli troops opened fire, the latest mass shooting around a US-backed aid distribution system that the UN says has resulted in 800 people killed in six weeks. Witnesses who spoke to Reuters described people being shot in the head and torso. Reuters saw several bodies of victims wrapped in white shrouds as family members wept at Nasser Hospital. The Israeli military said its troops had fired warning shots, but that its review of the incident had found no evidence of anyone hurt by its soldiers' fire. Delegations from Israel and Hamas have been in Qatar pushing for an agreement which envisages a phased release of hostages, Israeli troop withdrawals and discussions on ending the war. The Israeli official blamed the impasse on Hamas, which he said "remains stubborn, sticking to positions that do not allow the mediators to advance an agreement". Hamas has previously blamed Israeli demands for blocking a deal. A Palestinian source said that Hamas had rejected withdrawal maps which Israel had proposed that would leave around 40 per cent of Gaza under Israeli control, including all of the southern area of Rafah and further territories in northern and eastern Gaza. Two Israeli sources said Hamas wanted Israel to retreat to lines it held in a previous ceasefire before it renewed its offensive in March. The Palestinian source said aid issues and guarantees on an end to the war were also presenting a challenge. The crisis could be resolved with more US intervention, the source said. Hamas has long demanded an agreement to end the war before it would free remaining hostages; Israel has insisted it would end the fighting only when all hostages are released and Hamas is dismantled as a fighting force and administration in Gaza. Shooting Saturday's reported mass shooting near an aid distribution point in Rafah was the latest in a series of such incidents that the United Nations rights office said on Friday had seen at least 798 people killed trying to get food in six weeks. "We were sitting there, and suddenly there was shooting towards us. For five minutes we were trapped under fire. The shooting was targeted. It was not random. Some people were shot in the head, some in the torso, one guy next to me was shot directly in the heart," eyewitness Mahmoud Makram told Reuters. "There is no mercy there, no mercy. People go because they are hungry but they die and come back in body bags." After partially lifting a total blockade of all goods into Gaza in late May, Israel launched a new aid distribution system, relying on a group backed by the United States to distribute food under the protection of Israeli troops. The United Nations has rejected the system as inherently dangerous and a violation of humanitarian neutrality principles. Israel says it is necessary to keep militants from diverting aid. The war began on Oct 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages into Gaza. At least 20 of the remaining 50 hostages there are believed to still be alive. Israel's campaign against Hamas has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities, displaced almost the entire population of more than two million people, sparked a humanitarian crisis and left much of the territory in ruins. Thousands of Israelis rallied in central Tel Aviv on Saturday demanding a deal that would release all remaining hostages being held by Hamas. Protester Boaz Levi told Reuters here was there to pressure the government, "to get to a hostage deal as soon as possible because our friends, brothers, are in Gaza and it's about the time to end this war. That is why we are here." [[nid:720064]]
Straits Times
11 hours ago
- Straits Times
Gaza truce talks in the balance as Israel and Hamas trade blame
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Injured Palestinians are taken to a Red Cross clinic in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, after they were reportedly shot while waiting to receive food parcels at an aid distribution point on July 12. GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories - Gaza ceasefire talks hung in the balance as Hamas and Israel on July 12 accused the other of blocking attempts to strike a deal, nearly a week into an attempt to halt 21 months of bitter fighting in the Palestinian territory. A Palestinian source with knowledge of the indirect talks in Qatar told AFP that Israel's proposals to keep its troops in the war-torn territory were holding up a deal for a 60-day pause. But on the Israeli side, a senior political official, also speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivities of the talks, accused the militants of inflexibility and deliberately trying to scuttle an accord. On the ground, Gaza's civil defence agency said at least 38 people were killed across the territory on July 12, including in an overnight air strike on an area sheltering the displaced. 'While we were sleeping, there was an explosion... where two boys, a girl and their mother were staying,' Mr Bassam Hamdan told AFP after the attack in an area of Gaza City. 'We found them torn to pieces, their remains scattered,' he added. In southern Gaza, bodies covered in white plastic sheets were taken to the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, while wounded in Rafah were taken for treatment by donkey cart, on stretchers or carried. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. 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Israelis demanding that their government secure the release of all hostages being held in Gaza, in Tel Aviv, on July 12. PHOTO: REUTERS Both Hamas and Israel have said that 10 hostages held since the militants' Oct 7, 2023 attack that sparked the war would be released – if an agreement is reached. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was prepared then to enter talks for a more permanent end to hostilities. Enclave plans? But one Palestinian source said Israel's refusal to accept Hamas' demand for a complete withdrawal of troops from Gaza was holding back progress in the talks. A second source said mediators had asked both sides to postpone discussions until US President Donald Trump's special envoy, Mr Steve Witkoff, arrives in the Qatari capital. The first source said Israel was proposing to maintain its military in more than 40 per cent of the Palestinian territory, forcing hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians into a small area near the city of Rafah, on the border with Egypt. 'Hamas' delegation will not accept the Israeli maps... as they essentially legitimise the reoccupation of approximately half of the Gaza Strip and turn Gaza into isolated zones with no crossings or freedom of movement,' they said. Israeli media reported that new maps would be presented on July 13, quoting an unnamed foreign official with knowledge of the details. A senior Israeli political official countered later that it was Hamas that rejected what was on the table, accusing the group of 'creating obstacles' and 'refusing to compromise' with the aim of 'sabotaging the negotiations'. 'Israel has demonstrated a willingness to show flexibility in the negotiations, while Hamas remains intransigent, clinging to positions that prevent the mediators from advancing an agreement,' the official added, in a statement sent to AFP. A Palestinian man carrying a bag of flour from a UN World Food Programme warehouse in Gaza City, on July 12. PHOTO: AFP The Hamas attacks on Israel in 2023 resulted in the deaths of at least 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures. Of the 251 hostages seized, 49 are still being held, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. At least 57,882 Palestinians, also mostly civilians, have been killed since the start of the war, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. Military operations The Israeli military said on July 12 it had attacked 'approximately 250 terrorist targets throughout the Gaza Strip' in the previous 48 hours. It said fighter jets hit 'over 35 Hamas terror targets' around Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza. Two previous ceasefires – a week-long truce beginning in late November 2023 and a two-month one from mid-January this year – saw 105 hostages released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. The second Palestinian source said 'some progress' had been made in the latest talks on plans for releasing Palestinian prisoners held by Israel and getting more aid to Gaza. Mr Netanyahu, who is under domestic and international pressure to end the war, said this week that neutralising Hamas as a security threat was a prerequisite for any long-term ceasefire talks. That included disarmament, he said, warning that failure to do so would mean Israel would have to do so by force. AFP
CNA
12 hours ago
- CNA
Gaza truce talks in the balance as Israel and Hamas trade blame
GAZA: Gaza ceasefire talks hung in the balance as Hamas and Israel on Saturday (Jul 12) accused the other of blocking attempts to strike a deal, nearly a week into an attempt to halt 21 months of bitter fighting in the Palestinian territory. A Palestinian source with knowledge of the indirect talks in Qatar told AFP that Israel's proposals to keep its troops in the war-torn territory were holding up a deal for a 60-day pause. But on the Israeli side, a senior political official, also speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivities of the talks, accused the militants of inflexibility and deliberately trying to scuttle an accord. On the ground, Gaza's civil defence agency said more than 20 people were killed across the territory on Saturday, including in an overnight air strike on an area sheltering the displaced. "While we were sleeping, there was an explosion... where two boys, a girl and their mother were staying," Bassam Hamdan told AFP after the attack in an area of Gaza City. "We found them torn to pieces, their remains scattered," he added. In southern Gaza, bodies covered in white plastic sheets were brought to the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, while wounded in Rafah were taken for treatment by donkey cart, on stretchers or carried. In Tel Aviv, thousands took to the streets urging the government to seal a hostage release deal. "The window of opportunity ... is open now and it won't be for long," said Eli Sharabi, who was freed in February. Both Hamas and Israel have said that 10 hostages held since the militants' Oct 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war would be released - if an agreement is reached. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was prepared then to enter talks for a more permanent end to hostilities. ENCLAVE PLANS? But one Palestinian source said Israel's refusal to accept Hamas's demand for a complete withdrawal of troops from Gaza was holding back progress in the talks. A second source said mediators had asked both sides to postpone discussions until US President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, arrives in the Qatari capital. The first source said Israel was proposing to maintain its military in more than 40 per cent of the Palestinian territory, forcing hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians into a small area near the city of Rafah, on the border with Egypt. "Hamas's delegation will not accept the Israeli maps... as they essentially legitimise the reoccupation of approximately half of the Gaza Strip and turn Gaza into isolated zones with no crossings or freedom of movement," they said. Israeli media reported that new maps would be presented on Sunday, quoting an unnamed foreign official with knowledge of the details. A senior Israeli political official countered later that it was Hamas that rejected what was on the table, accusing the group of "creating obstacles" and "refusing to compromise" with the aim of "sabotaging the negotiations". "Israel has demonstrated a willingness to show flexibility in the negotiations, while Hamas remains intransigent, clinging to positions that prevent the mediators from advancing an agreement," the official added in a statement sent to AFP. The Hamas attacks on Israel in 2023 resulted in the deaths of at least 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures. Of the 251 hostages seized, 49 are still being held, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. At least 57,882 Palestinians, also mostly civilians, have been killed since the start of the war, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. MILITARY OPERATIONS The Israeli military said on Saturday it had attacked "approximately 250 terrorist targets throughout the Gaza Strip" in the previous 48 hours. It said fighter jets hit "over 35 Hamas terror targets" around Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza. Two previous ceasefires - a week-long truce beginning in late November 2023 and a two-month one from mid-January this year - saw 105 hostages released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. The second Palestinian source said "some progress" had been made in the latest talks on plans for releasing Palestinian prisoners held by Israel and getting more aid to Gaza. Netanyahu, who is under domestic and international pressure to end the war, said this week that neutralising Hamas as a security threat was a prerequisite for any long-term ceasefire talks.
