The latest round of negotiations between Israel and Hamas reached an impasse on Sunday as mediators struggled to close remaining gaps and a Hamas delegation walked out of the talks in Cairo, according to two senior Hamas officials and two other officials familiar with the negotiations. conversations. An Israeli official also confirmed that negotiations had stalled, describing them as in “crisis.”
For months, negotiations aimed at achieving a ceasefire and the release of hostages have made little progress, but over the past week signs emerged that the two sides were moving closer to an agreement. Israel backed away from some of its long-standing demands and a senior Hamas official said the group was studying the latest Israeli offer in a “positive spirit.”
But the weekend’s setback meant that Palestinians living in squalid conditions in Gaza would not experience an imminent reprieve and families of hostages held by militants would have to wait longer for their loved ones’ freedom.
The main obstacle in the talks was the length of the ceasefire: Hamas demanded it be permanent and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel expressed openness to only a temporary cessation of fighting.
Hamas blamed the lack of progress on Netanyahu, who has again promised in recent days that the Israeli army will invade Rafah, the southernmost city in the Gaza Strip, with or without a deal.
“We were very close, but Netanyahu’s narrow-mindedness aborted the deal,” Mousa Abu Marzouk, a senior Hamas official, said in a telephone interview.
The Israeli official who spoke on condition of anonymity said that Israel and Hamas were closer to reaching an agreement a couple of days ago, but that Netanyahu’s statements on Rafah had forced Hamas to toughen its demands in an attempt to ensure that Israeli forces will win. Don’t go into the city.
Two U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, rejected the idea that the talks were at an impasse, suggesting the sides were still reviewing the details of the latest proposals.
Fighting continued on Sunday, with Israeli strikes reported in Rafah, according to Palestinian media, and rocket fire at a crossing area between Israel and Gaza, something that has been relatively rare in recent months.
Netanyahu and the United States have maintained that Hamas was delaying a deal. On Sunday, Netanyahu said he would not accept the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza or an end to the war. Tolerating such demands, he said, would allow Hamas to reestablish control over Gaza, rebuild its military capabilities and threaten communities across Israel.
“It is Hamas that is delaying the release of our hostages,” he said. “We are working by all possible means to free the hostages; “This is our top priority.”
An Israeli delegation never arrived in Cairo for the latest round of talks. The Israeli official said Israel had sought a written response to its latest proposal from Hamas before sending a delegation, but that the group never transmitted it.
Abu Marzouk said Hamas had wanted Israel to be present at the talks in Cairo, where they could have worked through mediators to clarify “vague” points of the latest Israeli offer, including the duration of a ceasefire.
“The ceasefire must be permanent and fixed,” he said.
Abu Marzouk was the only one of the officials to speak about the talks to allow the use of his name. The others spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive topic or because they were not authorized to speak to the press.
Hamas, Abu Marzouk said, thought Netanyahu wanted a deal that would allow Israel to invade Rafah after its hostages were freed.
“This is Netanyahu’s plan,” he said.
The Biden administration has been pressuring Israel to refrain from launching a major operation in Rafah, where around a million Palestinians have taken refuge since the start of the war, which has lasted almost seven months.
A technical team from Qatar’s Foreign Ministry also left the Egyptian capital on Sunday, two officials briefed on the talks said.
On Monday, Hamas political leaders will meet in Doha to discuss what happened in Cairo over the past two days, but the group intended to continue participating in the negotiations with “positivity,” one senior Hamas official said. , who spoke on condition of anonymity.
A report on Al-Qahera News, an Egyptian state television channel, said a Hamas delegation would return to Cairo on Tuesday, but the senior Hamas official said the group had not yet made a decision.
Peter Panadero and Michael Crowley contributed reporting to this article.