'They want to die': US ramps up efforts to fault Hamas for collapse of ceasefire talks

Middle East Eye

3 days ago

US President Donald Trump blamed Hamas on Friday for the collapse of Gaza ceasefire talks, even as he appeared to suggest that one of Hamas's sticking points is true: that Israel would resume attacks after it retrieved the remaining captives in Gaza.
"Hamas didn't really want to make a deal," Trump told reporters outside the White House on Friday. "I think they want to die, and it's very bad. It got to a point where you're going to have to finish the job."
One of the main obstacles to the Gaza ceasefire talks has been Hamas's insistence that the release of captives in Gaza leads to a permanent end to the war. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly rejected that, insisting that Hamas be fully destroyed - even after the captives are released.
Around 20 living Israelis are still being held in Gaza after two short-term ceasefires saw the release of more than 100.
"Now we are down to the final hostages and they [Hamas] know what happens after you get the final hostages," Trump said. "Basically because of that they really didn't want to make a deal... They lose their shield. They lose their cover."
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It's unclear whether Trump was trying to pressure the group to come back to the table and accept Israel's terms, or signalling he would support more widespread attacks on Gaza at a time when the enclave is descending into famine.
"There has been a consistent effort to fault Hamas for the lack of progress in every other instance where talks have not produced an agreement," Michael Hanna, a Middle East expert at the International Crisis Group (ICG), told Middle East Eye.
Israeli ground forces are already moving into the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balah, one of the few areas they deployed.
The ceasefire talks collapsed on Thursday when US envoy Steve Witkoff said he was recalling American negotiators from Doha, Qatar.
Qatari officials on Friday downplayed the recall, saying the "suspension of ceasefire negotiations to hold consultations before resuming talks again is a 'natural matter' in context of these complex negotiations".
Qatar's foreign ministry added that progress had been made in the latest round of talks and that it, along with Egypt, was committed to reach a comprehensive ceasefire agreement.
Trump's call to 'finish the job'
This week, more than two dozen western countries, including traditional supporters of Israel like Poland, the UK and Italy accused Israel of "drip feeding" aid into Gaza and the "inhumane killing of civilians".
Israel instituted a full blockade of Gaza in March. It allowed a trickle of aid into the enclave after establishing the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in May.
US grilled over Gaza famine fears as it withdraws from ceasefire talks Read More »
The US- and Israeli-backed group has been plagued by scandals and slammed by aid experts, including the UN.
Starving Palestinians have been placed in cage-like corrals attempting to retrieve aid and have been shot at by US mercenaries guarding "distribution hubs" in southern Gaza.
More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces while trying to access food in Gaza since the GHF started operations, the UN said on Tuesday.
Trump's call for Israel to "finish the job" is going to unnerve the US's Arab allies, two regional diplomats told MEE, who are concerned Israel will not stop the war until it forcibly displaces Palestinians from Gaza.
Israeli officials have said they want to create a so-called "humanitarian city" on Gaza's border with Egypt. The proposal has drawn international criticism, with some describing it as resembling a concentration camp.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated publicly that implementing the "Trump plan" is one of his conditions for ending the war. Trump alarmed Arab states when he said earlier this year that the US would take over the Gaza Strip, forcibly displace its Palestinian inhabitants and turn the enclave into a "Riviera".
"It's widely understood that there are no real strategic objectives to fulfil militarily unless the ultimate goal is displacement," Hanna, from the ICG, said. "In the meantime, it appears the US is willing to stand by as famine deepens throughout Gaza."
'Consistent effort to fault Hamas'
"The US has protected Israel in these talks and is not a mediator, but more like a party to the discussions since US guarantees figure prominently in any agreement," Hanna added.
The ceasefire talks between Hamas and Israel have ebbed and flowed for weeks. The two sides reached an agreement on a three-phase deal in January. Israel tore up the deal in March before talks on a permanent end to the war were scheduled to take place in phase 2 and unilaterally resumed attacking the Gaza Strip.
The US had made guarantees that it would work to ensure talks on a permanent end to the fighting take place. Arab mediators Egypt and Qatar also underwrote the ceasefire.
'The US is willing to stand by as famine deepens throughout Gaza'
- Michael Hanna, International Crisis Group
The Trump administration has clashed with Israel on several files - including striking an independent ceasefire with the Houthis in Yemen and condemning Israeli strikes on Syria - but has generally given Israel full backing to wage war on Gaza.
Trump's remarks echo those of his envoy Witkoff on Thursday, who said Hamas showed a "lack of desire to reach a ceasefire in Gaza".
The US's decision to pull back from talks comes as the Gaza Strip descends deeper into hunger as a result of the blockade that Israel has imposed.
Israel also suffered a diplomatic blow on Thursday when France announced it would recognise a Palestinian state. US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee wrote an unusually sarcastic social media post in response, saying Paris would give the French Riviera to the Palestinians and call it "Franc-en-stein".
But the real story is in the Gaza Strip, where MEE correspondents have reported scenes of people collapsing on the street out of hunger as families endure days without food.