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The newest spherical of negotiations between Israel and Hamas hit an deadlock on Sunday as mediators struggled to bridge remaining gaps and a Hamas delegation departed the talks in Cairo, in line with two senior Hamas officers and two different officers aware of the talks. An Israeli official additionally confirmed the negotiations had stalled and described them as being in “disaster.”
For months, the negotiations geared toward reaching a cease-fire and a launch of hostages have made little progress, however indicators the 2 sides had been coming nearer to an settlement appeared during the last week. Israel backed off a few of its long-held calls for and a prime Hamas official mentioned the group was finding out the newest Israeli supply with a “optimistic spirit.”
But the setback over the weekend meant Palestinians dwelling in depressing situations in Gaza wouldn’t expertise an imminent reprieve and the households of hostages held by militants must wait longer for the liberty of their family members.
The essential impediment within the talks was the length of a cease-fire, with Hamas demanding it’s everlasting and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel expressing openness to solely a brief halt within the combating.
Hamas blamed the dearth of progress on Mr. Netanyahu, who vowed once more in current days that the Israeli military will invade Rafah, the southernmost city within the Gaza Strip, with or with out an settlement.
“We had been very shut, however Netanyahu’s narrow-mindedness aborted an settlement,” Mousa Abu Marzouk, a senior Hamas official, mentioned in a telephone interview.
Mr. Netanyahu has for weeks declared his intention to stage a floor offensive geared toward Rafah, the place about 1,000,000 Palestinians have been sheltering. The Biden administration has been urgent Israel to chorus from endeavor a significant operation within the metropolis.
On Sunday, Hamas fired roughly 10 rockets from the realm of the Rafah border crossing, killing three troopers close to the Kerem Shalom crossing, in line with Israel’s navy. Rocket assaults by Hamas have been comparatively uncommon in current months, and Israel mentioned it had responded with airstrikes focusing on the positioning of the launches.
The Israeli official who spoke on the situation of anonymity mentioned that Israel and Hamas had been nearer to a deal a few days in the past, however that Mr. Netanyahu’s statements about Rafah had compelled Hamas to harden its calls for in an try to make sure that Israeli forces received’t enter the town. Hamas, the official mentioned, was now in search of additional ensures that Israel wouldn’t implement solely a part of an settlement, after which resume combating.
The official lamented that Hamas and Israel had shifted gears to taking part in a “blame recreation.”
Two U.S. officers, who spoke on the situation of anonymity, pushed again on the notion the talks had been at an deadlock, suggesting that events had been nonetheless reviewing particulars of the latest proposals.
Mr. Netanyahu and the United States have been contending that Hamas was holding up an settlement. On Sunday, Mr. Netanyahu mentioned he wouldn’t conform to the whole withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and an finish to the conflict. Countenancing such calls for, he mentioned, would permit Hamas to re-establish management over Gaza, rebuild their navy capabilities, and threaten communities all through Israel.
“It is Hamas that’s holding up the discharge of our hostages,” he mentioned. “We are working in each doable strategy to free the hostages; that is our prime precedence.”
An Israeli delegation by no means made it to Cairo for the newest spherical of talks. The Israeli official mentioned that Israel had sought a written response to its newest proposal from Hamas earlier than dispatching a delegation, however that the group by no means conveyed one.
Mr. Abu Marzouk mentioned Hamas had needed Israel to be current on the talks in Cairo, the place they might have labored by mediators to make clear “imprecise” factors within the newest Israeli supply, together with on the length of a cease-fire.
“The cease-fire must be everlasting and stuck,” he mentioned.
Mr. Abu Marzouk was the one one of many officers who spoke in regards to the talks to permit using his title. The others spoke on the situation of anonymity to debate the delicate topic or as a result of they weren’t licensed to talk to the press.
Hamas, Mr. Abu Marzouk mentioned, thought that Mr. Netanyahu needed an settlement that might allow Israel to invade Rafah after its hostages are launched.
“This is Netanyahu’s plan,” he mentioned.
A technical crew from the Qatari overseas ministry additionally left the Egyptian capital on Sunday, two officers briefed on the talks mentioned. Bill Burns, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, met with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Doha on Sunday to debate getting the talks again on monitor, one of many officers mentioned.
On Monday, Hamas’s political management will convene in Doha to debate what unfolded in Cairo over the previous two days, however the group meant to proceed taking part in negotiations with “positivity,” mentioned one of many senior Hamas officers, who spoke on the situation of anonymity.
A report in Al-Qahera News, an Egyptian state-owned tv channel, mentioned {that a} Hamas delegation would return to Cairo on Tuesday, however the senior Hamas official mentioned that the group hadn’t decided but.
Peter Baker and Michael Crowley contributed reporting to this text.
