Egyptian officials: Truce-hostage discussions are stalled until Israel demonstrates sincerity.
Gaza hostage release-truce talks have been halted after three days of intense negotiations failed to produce a viable outcome, two Egyptian security sources said Saturday, blaming Israel for lacking a genuine intent to reach an agreement.
The sources, who spoke to the Reuters news agency on condition of anonymity, said that the behavior of the Israeli mediators revealed “internal discord.”
According to the sources, the Israeli delegation would give approvals on several conditions under discussion, but then come back with amendments or introduce new conditions that risked sinking the negotiations.
The sources said the mediators viewed the “contradictions, delays in responses, and the introduction of new terms contrary to what was previously agreed” as signs the Israeli side viewed the talks as a formality aimed at influencing public opinion.
The Ynet news site reported that the Israeli negotiating team had not been updated on the talks being paused.
July 11, 2024. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)
Gaza hostage release-truce talks have been halted after three days of intense negotiations failed to produce a viable outcome, two Egyptian security sources said Saturday, blaming Israel for lacking a genuine intent to reach an agreement.
The sources, who spoke to the Reuters news agency on condition of anonymity, said that the behavior of the Israeli mediators revealed “internal discord.”
According to the sources, the Israeli delegation would give approvals on several conditions under discussion, but then come back with amendments or introduce new conditions that risked sinking the negotiations.
The sources said the mediators viewed the “contradictions, delays in responses, and the introduction of new terms contrary to what was previously agreed” as signs the Israeli side viewed the talks as a formality aimed at influencing public opinion.
The Ynet news site reported that the Israeli negotiating team had not been updated on the talks being paused.
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Ramped-up hostage deal talks in Doha and Cairo took place throughout much of last week. There was renewed optimism about the talks after Hamas dropped its demand that the framework include an upfront commitment from Israel to end the war during the first of three phases, though the terror group is still demanding a commitment to that effect from mediators.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is said to have hardened his negotiating stance in light of reported intelligence showing Hamas wants a ceasefire agreement due to its weakening military position.
Egypt’s Al Qahera News TV, citing a senior Egyptian source, reported Saturday that Cairo has called on Israel not to obstruct the ongoing negotiations by putting forward new principles that contradict what has been agreed upon.
Israel is wasting time in formal meetings to lure Israeli public opinion away from reaching a deal, the source told the outlet.
The current round of talks is based on an Israeli proposal outlined by US President Joe Biden in a May 31 speech and aims to free hostages abducted by Hamas during its massive October 7 assault on Israel alongside a ceasefire in the war that the attack started. The talks stalled in June, but a recent reworking of the agreement’s language opened the door for renewed negotiations.
Hamas deputy leader Khalil Al-Hayya told Al Jazeera that the terror group is waiting for a response from mediators on its reply to the initial Israeli proposal.
Al-Hayya also accused the Israeli leader of trying to sabotage the talks, saying Netanyahu is behaving like someone “pushed into a corner” who wants to “shuffle the cards.”
Over the weekend Israel carried out a strike in Gaza aimed at killing Hamas military leader Muhammad Deif and his deputy, though it was not immediately confirmed that Deif had died in the bombing. Hamas, without differentiating between civilians and fighters, claimed that over 90 people were killed in the strike.
Senior Hamas official Basem Naim panned the attack, telling Al Jazeera that “every time that we get close to an agreement Netanyahu carries out a new crime” and warned that Hamas could back out of talks.
Last week, as the talks were in progress, Netanyahu repeatedly made statements from a hawkish negotiating position while calling for Israel to retain control along the Gaza-Egypt border. He is also demanding an enforcement mechanism to prevent armed Hamas operatives from returning to northern Gaza.
The families of Israelis held hostage by Hamas decried Netanyahu’s handling of the talks.
“We are horrified and shocked by this irresponsible behavior that is likely to lead to missing an opportunity that may never come back,” the Hostage and Missing Families Forum said in a statement Saturday. “By the time everybody comes to their senses and works together, there may be no one to bring back.”
“Every minute is an eternity for us and every second is hell for them. We appeal to the prime minister: we stand behind the Netanyahu deal. Now it’s your turn to stand behind the deal you put on the table.”
At rallies on Saturday in support of a hostage deal, participants — including some former hostages — urged the prime minister to push ahead with the the current framework while accusing him of sabotaging progress.
Netanyahu at a press conference insisted that his approach of military pressure and hardball negotiating is the best strategy to secure freedom for all the hostages held by Hamas.
The war in Gaza erupted with the terror group’s October 7 massacre, which saw some 3,000 terrorists burst across the border into Israel by land, air and sea, killing some 1,200 people and seizing 251 hostages, mostly civilians, amid many acts of brutality and sexual assault.
Israel responded with a military offensive to destroy Hamas, topple its Gaza regime, and free the hostages.
It is believed that 116 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza — including the remains of 42 whose deaths the IDF has confirmed — after 105 civilians were released from Hamas captivity during a weeklong truce in late November, and four hostages were released prior to that.
Seven hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 19 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the military.
One more person has been listed as missing since October 7, and their fate is still unknown.
Hamas has also been holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.
