The meeting in Cairo to reach a truce between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip concluded on Sunday without concrete progress due to the inflexible positions of both sides after seven months of war. A senior Hamas official told AFP that the delegation of the Islamist group left for Qatar after disagreements intensified over the terms of an agreement, which in addition to a truce includes the release of hostages. However, a group will return to the Egyptian capital on Tuesday to conclude the indirect negotiations with Israel, reported the Egyptian media Al Qahera News, close to the intelligence services, citing a well-informed source.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that accepting Hamas’ demands to end the war in Gaza would be a terrible defeat for the State of Israel and would be equivalent to capitulating. In response, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh accused Netanyahu of sabotaging the efforts of mediators to obtain a truce in the Palestinian territory, devastated after almost seven months of conflict. The war broke out on October 7 after a raid by Islamist commandos in southern Israel, in which they killed 1,170 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped around 250, according to Israeli data.
Israeli authorities estimate that, following an exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners in November, 128 people remain captive in Gaza and that 35 have died so far. The offensive launched by Israel in response to the attack has already left 34,683 dead in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Ministry of Health. The Israeli leader also announced the closure of the Qatari news network Al Jazeera in the country for its coverage of the war in Gaza. The channel called the decision criminal and announced that it will resort to all available legal avenues to reverse the situation.
The latest truce proposal presented to Hamas at the end of April provides for a 40-day cessation of fighting and an exchange of Israeli hostages held in Gaza from October 7 to exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israel. A few hours before the second day of negotiations resumed in the Egyptian capital on Sunday, a Hamas leader insisted that the Islamist movement would not accept under any circumstances an agreement that does not explicitly include the end of the war. Netanyahu declared in a cabinet meeting. The Hostage Families Forum called on Netanyahu to ignore political pressure and accept an agreement that would allow the hostages to be released.