Israeli army refusal of full withdrawal from Gaza stalls ceasefire talks
The latest Israel-Hamas negotiations began in the Qatari capital Doha on July 6 amid high expectations fuelled by upbeat comments made by US President Donald Trump that suggested a deal was in reach.
The talks have over the past week made significant progress, but not without hiccups over key issues like the distribution of humanitarian assistance to Gaza and what comes after a proposed 60-day truce ends, according to the sources.
Held on two floors at a suburban Doha hotel, they are taking place with mediators from the US, Egypt and Qatar at hand to enable the process.
Success of the talks would herald the third ceasefire since the Gaza war began in October 2023 following a deadly, Hamas-led attack on southern Israel communities.
The last ceasefire collapsed in March this year, when Israel resumed military operations after nearly two months of quiet. The first truce in the war was in November 2023. It lasted one week.
The sources said Israeli negotiators were due later on Sunday to present Hamas representatives with maps showing areas the military intends to withdraw from and those it aims to stay in.
They said Israel wants to hold on to at least five areas in Gaza, including a narrow but strategic strip of land that runs on the Palestinian side of the Gaza-Egypt border as well as another corridor that is close by.
Israel also wants to keep outposts in the north and south of the territory, including an area close to the spot outside the southern city of Rafah where it is reportedly planning to provide humanitarian aid to about 600,000 Palestinians, according to the sources.
Hamas, said the sources, has agreed to allow Israel to set up a security zone that is 1km deep and runs on the Palestinian side of the Gaza-Israel border, but it is adamant that the Israeli army pulls out from everywhere else in the coastal enclave.
Hamas is also demanding that the security zone is patrolled by an international force, said the sources.
A Palestinian source told AFP on Sunday that Israel's proposals to keep its troops in Gaza were holding up a deal. It quoted a senior Israeli official it did not name as accusing Hamas of inflexibility and deliberately trying to scuttle an accord.
Besides the 60-day truce, the main terms of the proposed deal is for Hamas to free 10 living hostages and for humanitarian assistance to flow into the territory where hundreds of thousands are facing hunger.
They also include the release of about 1,000 Palestinians held in Israeli jails and negotiations during the initial truce on ending the war completely.
If Hamas agrees to a deal, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would be prepared to enter talks on a more permanent end to hostilities.
The Israeli leader, who is under domestic and international pressure to end the war, said last week that neutralising Hamas as a security threat was a prerequisite for any long-term ceasefire talks.
That includes disarmament, he said. Failure to do that would mean Israel would have to do so by force, he warned.
Hamas has vehemently rejected calls for surrendering its arms but suggested a willingness to lay down and store them in the case of an end to the war.
Mediators had in the meantime asked both Israel and Hamas to postpone discussions until Mr Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, arrived in the Qatari capital, according to AFP.
The source did not say when that would be, but the sources who spoke to The National said he was unlikely to travel to Qatar before a deal becomes within reach.
The Hamas attack on southern Israel communities in October 2023 left about 1,200 dead, mostly civilians. The assailants also took another 250 hostage. Of the hostages, 49 remain, with about 27 who died in captivity.
Israel's response to the October 2023 attack has to date killed at least 57,882 Palestinians, also mostly civilians, and wounded more than twice that number, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Khaleej Times
27 minutes ago
- Khaleej Times
Indonesia hails 'new era' with US after Trump trade pact
Indonesia's president on Wednesday hailed a "new era" of trade relations with the United States, after Donald Trump said he would slash tariffs faced by Southeast Asia's biggest economy from 32 per cent to 19 per cent. The Trump administration has been under pressure to wrap up trade pacts after promising a flurry of deals, as countries sought talks with Washington to avoid the US president's threatened tariffs ahead of an August 1 deadline. "I had a very good call with President Donald Trump. Together, we agreed and concluded to take trade relations between Indonesia and the United States into a new era of mutual benefit," President Prabowo Subianto wrote on Instagram. Prabowo confirmed the new tariff rate after landing back in Indonesia from Europe. "We agreed... the tariffs to be lowered from 32 (per cent) to 19 (per cent)," he told reporters, adding he could visit Washington in September or October. Prabowo, a populist former general, posted pictures of himself laughing on the phone with Trump, but did not give any specifics about their trade deal. Prabowo's presidential spokesperson confirmed the 19 per cent rate and said it was struck after direct negotiations. "It is an extraordinary negotiation conducted directly by our president with President Donald Trump," spokesperson Hasan Nasbi said, adding that the deal was "progress that cannot be called small". Trump said the rate reduction was in return for significant purchase commitments from Jakarta, including a pledge to buy 50 Boeing jets. Indonesia has committed to spending billions to increase energy, agriculture and merchandise imports from the United States. Trump and Prabowo have developed a warm relationship since the US leader first clinched the presidency in 2016. Washington invited then-defence minister Prabowo to visit in 2020, lifting a de facto visa ban, which had been in effect over alleged crimes committed during the reign of Indonesia's late dictator Suharto. After Trump announced the tariffs in April, Prabowo sent his top economic minister to Washington, and also suggested that Trump was maybe helping Jakarta by causing it to rethink its trade surplus with the world's top economy. Data from the US Trade Representative office shows Washington's goods trade deficit with Indonesia was $17.9 billion in 2024, up 5.4 per cent from the year before. The deal struck with Indonesia would be slightly better than the 20 per cent given to Southeast Asian neighbour Vietnam. Both Indonesia and Vietnam are key markets for the shipment of Chinese goods. Trump said the deal with Indonesia would include a penalty for goods transiting Indonesia from China. But experts said the Indonesia pact appeared one-sided. "The 19 per cent tariff on Indonesian exports to the US, while the US can enjoy 0 per cent, actually poses a significant risk to Indonesia's trade balance," said Bhima Yudhistira Adhinegara, executive director of the Center of Economic and Law Studies. "Do not be too reliant on exports to the US, because the result of the tariff negotiation is still detrimental to Indonesia's position."
Khaleej Times
an hour ago
- Khaleej Times
Trump sets 19% tariff on Indonesia goods in latest deal, EU readies retaliation
President Donald Trump on Tuesday said the U.S. would impose a 19% tariff on goods from Indonesia under a new agreement with the Southeast Asian country and more deals were coming, while offering fresh details on planned duties on pharmaceuticals. Trump announced the pact with Indonesia, a relatively minor U.S. trading partner, as he continued to press for what he views as better terms with trading partners and ways to shrink a huge U.S. trade deficit. Letters setting tariff rates for dozens of smaller countries were also coming soon, he said on Tuesday. The deal with Indonesia is among the handful struck so far by the Trump administration ahead of an August 1 deadline when duties on most U.S. imports are due to rise again. The accord came as the top U.S. trading partner - the European Union - readied retaliatory measures should talks with Washington fail. As that deadline approached, negotiations were under way with other nations eager to avoid more U.S. levies beyond a baseline 10% on most goods that has been in place since April. Trump's roll-out of the policies has often been chaotic. His moves have upended decades of negotiated reductions in global trade barriers, unsettling international financial markets and threatening a new wave of inflation. Based on Trump tariff announcements through Sunday, Yale Budget Lab estimated the U.S. effective average tariff rates will rise to 20.6% from between 2% and 3% before Trump's return to the White House in January. Consumption shifts would bring the rate down to 19.7%, but it's still the highest since 1933. Trump outlined an Indonesia deal similar to a preliminary pact struck recently with Vietnam, with a flat tariff on exports to the U.S. roughly double the current 10% and no levies on U.S. exports going there. It also included a penalty rate for so-called transhipments of goods from China via Indonesia and a commitment to buy some U.S. goods. "They are going to pay 19% and we are going to pay nothing ... we will have full access into Indonesia, and we have a couple of those deals that are going to be announced," Trump said outside the Oval Office. Trump later said on his Truth Social platform that Indonesia had agreed to buy $15 billion of U.S. energy products, $4.5 billion of American farm products and 50 Boeing jets, though no time frame was specified. He told reporters the deal with Vietnam was "pretty well set" but said it was not necessary to release details. India talks Indonesia's total trade with the U.S. - totalling just under $40 billion in 2024 - does not rank in the top 15, but it has been growing. U.S. exports to Indonesia rose 3.7% last year, while imports from there were up 4.8%, leaving the U.S. with a goods trade deficit of nearly $18 billion. The top U.S. import categories from Indonesia, according to U.S. Census Bureau data from the International Trade Centre's TradeMap tool, last year were palm oil, electronics equipment including data routers and switches, footwear, car tires, natural rubber and frozen shrimp. Susiwijono Moegiarso, a senior official with Indonesia's Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, told Reuters in a text message: "We are preparing a joint statement between U.S. and Indonesia that will explain the size of reciprocal tariff for Indonesia including the tariff deal, non-tariff and commercial arrangements. We will inform (the public) soon." Trump had threatened the country with a 32% tariff rate starting August 1 in a letter sent to its president last week. He sent similar letters to about two dozen trading partners this month, including Canada, Japan and Brazil, laying out tariff rates ranging from 20% to 50%, plus a 50% tariff on copper. Speaking in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, Trump said he favored blanket tariffs over complicated negotiations, but his Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick were keen to land more trade agreements. Upon his arrival back in Washington, Trump told reporters that letters would be going out soon for many smaller countries, suggesting they would face a tariff of "a little over 10%." He said his administration would also announce tariffs on pharmaceuticals imported into the United States, probably at the end of the month, starting with what he called a low tariff rate to give companies time to move manufacturing to the U.S. before imposing a "very high tariff" in a year or so. The August 1 deadline gives targeted countries time to negotiate about lower tariff rates. Some economists have also noted Trump's pattern of backing off his tariff threats. Since launching his tariff policy, Trump has clinched only a few "framework" agreements, falling short of earlier promises to land "90 deals in 90 days." So far, such deals have been reached with the United Kingdom and Vietnam, and an interim deal has been struck with China to forestall the steepest of Trump's tariffs while negotiations continue between Washington and Beijing. Trump said talks with India were moving "along that same line," saying the agreement would give U.S. firms access to the large Indian market. EU readies retaliation The breakthrough with Indonesia came as the European Commission, which oversees trade for the EU, prepared to target 72 billion euros ($84.1 billion) worth of U.S. goods - from Boeing aircraft and bourbon whiskey to cars - for possible tariffs if trade talks with Washington fail. Trump has threatened a 30% tariff on imports from the EU from August 1, a level European officials say is unacceptable and would end normal trade between two of the world's largest markets. The list, sent to EU member states and seen by Reuters on Tuesday, pre-dated Trump's move over the weekend to ramp up pressure on the 27-nation bloc and responded instead to U.S. duties on cars and car parts and a 10% baseline tariff. The package also covers chemicals, medical devices, electrical and precision equipment as well as agriculture and food products - a range of fruits and vegetables, along with wine, beer and spirits - valued at 6.35 billion euros.
The National
an hour ago
- The National
Israel opens new military corridor in southern Gaza
Israel says it has created an army-controlled route through the Gazan city of Khan Younis, the latest in a series of corridors to cut the strip into sections. The corridor, called Magen Oz, stretches about 15km between eastern and western Khan Younis, according to a military statement on Wednesday. 'This corridor serves as a key component in applying pressure on Hamas and achieving the decisive defeat of its Khan Younis Brigade,' it added. The route further divides the south of the strip, in which large numbers of civilians are sheltering after being displaced from the north and centre. The new corridor intersects with the Morag Corridor, which cuts off Khan Younis from the far south of the strip. Israel has used such corridors throughout the Gaza war to exert control over the strip and prevent the movement of Gazans. The latest announcement comes as ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas appear to be stalling, with a key stumbling block being the timeline and extent to which Israeli forces would withdraw from the strip during a deal. Defence Minister Israel Katz has presented plans to force all Gazans into a 'humanitarian city' on the ruins of the strip's southernmost city, Rafah. In a briefing to Israeli journalists, Mr Katz said the military would 'move' 600,000 Palestinians into the zone, followed by the entire population after which an 'emigration plan' would be enacted. Twenty-one Palestinians died after gas fired into the crowd caused a crush at an aid distribution centre in Khan Younis in southern Gaza on Wednesday, the enclave's Health Ministry said.
