Why Gaza truce talks are at an ‘impasse’
They set themselves a 48-hour deadline earlier this week, but on Thursday neither Hamas nor Israel had shown any signs of agreeing to a truce in Gaza despite pressure from international mediators.
The United States, Egypt and Qatar put together a framework for a deal that would include a six-week halt to fighting and the exchange of about 40 hostages for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
It would also see increased humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza and many displaced people returning to what is left of their homes.
The proposals ultimately aim to secure the release of all 129 hostages believed to still be alive in Gaza, along with the eventual withdrawal of all Israeli troops.
But now “negotiations are at an impasse”, said Hasni Abidi of the Geneva-based Centre for Studies and Research for the Arab and Mediterranean World.
However, no side has yet given up.
“Hamas is studying the offer... It has not responded yet,” a Hamas spokesman in Doha, Hossam Badran, told AFP.
Israel accused Hamas of “walking away” from the offer.
“There is a very reasonable offer on the table and Hamas keeps walking away,” government spokesman David Mencer told reporters, adding that international pressure on Israel was “helping Hamas”.
Hamas wants a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, which at this stage is unacceptable to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has vowed to “eliminate” all Hamas battalions.
He said four battalions continue to operate in Rafah, the last stronghold of Hamas in southern Gaza, where some 1.5 million Palestinians have taken refuge. Netanyahu has vowed to send ground troops into Rafah, ignoring an international outcry against it, including from the United States.
The war in Gaza broke out after Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7, resulting in the deaths of 1,170 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive against Hamas has killed 33,482 people in Gaza, most of them women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
TACTICAL TRUCE
Analysts say Israel would benefit from a truce, even if it was just a tactical move, after losing 260 soldiers in Gaza.
On Sunday, Israel said it had withdrawn all its troops from southern Gaza, but had one brigade holding a central strip running across the territory.
Daniel Byman of the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service said pulling out those soldiers, including from the southern city of Khan Younis, was all about preparing for an assault on Rafah.
As Israel is increasingly isolated over the high civilian death toll in Gaza, Abidi said the drawdown gives it much needed breathing space, especially when it comes to handling Washington, which it “has failed to convince” when it comes to its war strategy.