Israeli and American negotiators have decided to give up the talks of Gaza ceasefire in Doha, the capital of Qatar, accusing Hamas of “not acting in good faith”.
In a statement, American Special Envoy Steve Witcoff said: “We have decided to bring our team home from Doha for consultation after the latest response from Hamas, which clearly reflects the lack of desire to reach a ceasefire in Gaza.”
The Israeli government did not say what its return is, but a senior Israeli official was quoted in the local media, stating that there was “no collapse” in the conversation.
Hamas said it was surprised by Vitkoff’s comments and was eager to continue the conversation.
All the sides involved in the negotiations – including intermediaries – admit that comprehensive gaps live on major issues.
In Thursday’s statement, Witchoff said that “while the mediators have made a great attempt, Hamas does not act in coordinated or good faith”.
“Now we will consider alternative options to bring hostages home and try to create a more stable environment for the people of Gaza.
“It’s ashamed that Hamas has worked in this selfish way. We are firm in ending this struggle and demanding a permanent peace in Gaza.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not yet been publicly commented as to why the Israeli talks were leaving Doha.
The Times of Israel said that senior Israeli officials – speaking on the condition of anonymity – was “no fall” in the conversation.
The official criticized Hamas’s “rejectionist and unfortunate approach”, saying that “we reach the stage where we really need to return, and we will return here to the right way to reduce the gap and reach the closing phase as soon as we need to return to the right way”.
In a statement on Friday, Hamas said: “The movement confirms its curiosity to continue and engage them that helps to overcome obstacles and leads to a permanent ceasefire agreement.”
The latest round of negotiations in Doha – with the intermediary of Katri and Egypt – has been going on for more than two weeks.
Earlier on Thursday, the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) said that one of the five children in Gaza city was now malnourished and the cases were increasing every day.
More than 100 international aid organizations and human rights groups have also warned of large -scale starvation – pressure on governments to take action.
Israel, which controls the entry of all supply into Gaza, has repeatedly stated that there is no siege, blaming Hamas for any case of malnutrition.
Israel stopped the aid delivery in the Gaza strip after a two -month ceasefire in early March. After about two months the blockade was partially reduced, but food, fuel and lack of medicine deteriorated.
According to the United Nations Human Rights Office, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli army trying to get food assistance in the last two months.
It states that at least one of them is killed in the area around one of the four distribution centers of 766 GHF, operated by American private security contractors and is located inside the Israeli military areas.
Another 288 people have been killed near the United Nations and other aid convoys.
Israel has accused Hamas of provoking chaos near Hamas. It says that its soldiers have only taken out warning shots and they do not deliberately shoot citizens.
The Israeli army launched a campaign in Gaza on 7 October 2023 in response to the Hamas -led attack on Southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and 251 others were taken hostage.
According to the Hamas-Interested Health Ministry of the region, at least 59,106 people have been killed in Gaza since then.
