Netanyahu, Trump Appear to Abandon Gaza Ceasefire Negotiations with Hamas
Netanyahu said Israel was now considering "alternative" options to achieve its goals of bringing its hostages home from Gaza and ending the rule of Hamas in the territory. Trump said Hamas did not want to make a deal and he believed the group's leaders would now be "hunted down".
The remarks followed statements made overnight by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, who said Hamas was to blame for an impasse at the ceasefire negotiations, mediated by Qatar and Egypt. Netanyahu said Witkoff had got it right, and that Hamas was the obstacle to a deal.
Hamas had given its response to a U.S.-backed ceasefire proposal on Thursday, only for Israel to announced hours later that it was withdrawing its negotiators for consultations.
Hamas has disputed Witkoff's characterisation of the talks and said the negotiators were making progress. It said Witkoff's remarks were aimed at applying pressure on Israel's behalf ahead of a future next round of negotiations.
The proposed ceasefire would have lasted 60 days during which additional aid would be allowed into Gaza, and some of the remaining 50 hostages held by militants there would be freed in return for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Nahar Net
an hour ago
- Nahar Net
Hezbollah MP: Beware of playing with fire with us
by Naharnet Newsdesk 08 August 2025, 18:15 MP Ali al-Meqdad of Hezbollah's Loyalty to Resistance bloc said 'Lebanon should be protected by all its components and segments and by its resistance and army, which they want to put today in the face of the resistance.' 'We want this army to keep standing with the resistance and with its people to protect Lebanon,' Meqdad added, during the funeral of a Hezbollah member Alaa Haidar, who was killed in an Israeli drone strike in Kfardan near Baalbek. "At the moment of your martyrdom, the government meeting at the presidential palace was approving your blood spilling, your targeting and your killing. Unfortunately, during the session, they did not hear that a great martyr and leader had been martyred in the Bekaa Valley. They only listened to American and Israeli dictates,' Meqdad charged He added that the government's decision on Hezbollah's disarmament 'will remain ink on paper.' 'I assure you that what happened yesterday in the Council of Ministers is not worth the ink with which it was written," he said. Meqdad added' "Yesterday, the mother of three martyrs called me and asked me, 'What's going on? Are you selling the blood of the martyrs?' I accept the surrender of the weapons on the condition that you return to me my three martyred sons and the most sacred martyr, His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. She wanted to use her impossible condition to tell this government that abandoning the resistance's weapons is impossible, and we stand behind this pure and noble mother.' He continued, "Don't play with fire with us. We are the first to demand protection and stability for this country.' 'Let what happened remain within its theoretical framework. The families of the martyrs will not allow the resistance to sell the blood of the martyrs, let alone the millions who all support the resistance! Every honorable person who refuses humiliation and degradation in Lebanon is a resistance fighter," Meqdad added. The government had on Tuesday taken a historic decision to monopolize arms in the hands of the state before the year's end and on Thursday it approved the objectives of U.S. envoy Tom Barrack's paper, which focuses on the disarmament of Hezbollah and other armed groups in the country. The ministers of Hezbollah and the Amal Movement walked out of both sessions in protest.
Nahar Net
4 hours ago
- Nahar Net
Germany stops military exports that could be used in Gaza
by Naharnet Newsdesk 08 August 2025, 14:48 Germany will not authorize any exports of military equipment that could be used in Gaza "until further notice," Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced Friday, in a strikingly quick response by one of Israel's strongest international backers to a decision by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Cabinet to take over Gaza City. The move by Germany, which has previously stopped short of tougher lines against Israel's government taken by some of its European Union allies, appeared likely to further isolate Israel in the wake of the controversial military takeover plan that has been decried by the United Nations and supporters of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza. In a statement, Merz emphasized that Israel "has the right to defend itself against Hamas' terror" and said that the release of Israeli hostages and purposeful negotiations toward a cease-fire in the 22-month conflict "are our top priority." He said Hamas must not have a role in the future of Gaza. "The even harsher military action by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip, approved by the Israeli Cabinet last night, makes it increasingly difficult for the German government to see how these goals will be achieved," he added. "Under these circumstances, the German government will not authorize any exports of military equipment that could be used in the Gaza Strip until further notice." The German government remains deeply concerned about the suffering of civilians in Gaza, he said, adding: "With the planned offensive, the Israeli government bears even greater responsibility than before for providing for their needs." He called on Israel to allow comprehensive access for aid deliveries — including for U.N. organizations and other NGOs — and said Israel "must continue to comprehensively and sustainably address the humanitarian situation in Gaza." Germany also called on Israel's government "not to take any further steps toward annexing the West Bank." It was not immediately clear which military equipment from Germany would be affected. Germany, with its history with the Holocaust, has been among the strongest Western backers of Israel — no matter which government is in power. Merz's government did not join announcements by President Emmanuel Macron of key German ally France and Britain's Keir Starmer that they plan to formally recognize a Palestinian state in September.
Nahar Net
4 hours ago
- Nahar Net
Egypt and Qatar draw up new framework to end Gaza war and release hostages
by Naharnet Newsdesk 08 August 2025, 14:50 Mediators from Egypt and Qatar are working on a new framework which will include the release of all hostages — dead and alive — in one go in return for an end of the war in Gaza and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the strip, according to two Arab officials who spoke to The Associated Press anonymously due to the sensitivity of the discussions. One is involved directly in the deliberations and the second was briefed on the efforts. The efforts have the backing of major Arab Gulf monarchies, the officials said, as they are concerned about further regional destabilization if Israel's government proceeds with a full reoccupation of Gaza, two decades after Israel's unilateral withdrawal from the strip. The yet-to-be finalized framework aims to address the contentious issue of what to do with Hamas' weapons, with Israel seeking full disarmament and Hamas refusing. The official directly involved in the efforts said discussions are underway about 'freezing arms,' which may involve Hamas retaining but not using its weapons. It also calls for the group to relinquish power in the strip. A Palestinian-Arab committee would run Gaza and oversee the reconstruction efforts until the establishment of a Palestinian administration with a new police force, trained by two U.S. allies in the Middle East, to take over the strip, he said. It is unclear what role the Western-backed Palestinian Authority would play. The second official said that a powerful Gulf country is supporting the Egyptian-Qatari efforts. A senior Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to brief the media, said the group's leadership has been aware of the Arab mediators' efforts to revive the ceasefire talks, but has yet to receive details. AP reached out to the governments in Qatar, Egypt and Israel for comment. U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff told hostage families during his recent visit that Israel was shifting its approach to pursue a comprehensive 'all-or-nothing' deal aimed at ending the war and securing the release of hostages, a person who attended the meeting told the AP, speaking on the condition of anonymity as they are not authorized to speak about the private meeting.
