Efforts to secure an agreement to end the Gaza war and bring about the release of hostages in Hamas captivity appeared to be deadlocked after Hamas on Tuesday gave Qatar its response to a framework drawn up by Israel, the US, Qatar and Egypt in Paris 10 days ago.
Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, said he remained positive and confirmed the Hamas response had been forwarded to Israel.
US secretary of state Antony Blinken, who arrives in Israel on Wednesday, said he would discuss the Hamas response in talks with Israeli leaders. “There’s still a lot of work to be done, but we continue to believe that an agreement is possible, and indeed essential. And we will continue to work relentlessly to achieve it,” he said at a press conference in Doha.
Details of the Hamas response were not made public but it is believed the militant group is sticking to its original position that there must be a full and permanent ceasefire, accompanied by the withdrawal of all Israeli troops and an end to the economic siege on the coastal enclave.
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This remains a non-starter for the Israeli war cabinet, which insists the fighting will continue until “total victory”, the killing or exile of the Hamas leadership and new arrangements in place enabling residents of southern Israel to return to their homes in safety.
Israeli officials said the Hamas response was essentially a rejection of the Paris framework but Israel will continue efforts to clinch a deal.
Mr Blinken said Saudi leaders were open to normalising relations with Israel: “But two things will be required – an end to the conflict in Gaza, and a clear, credible time-bound path to the establishment of a Palestinian state,” he said.
The Israeli army aims to complete the capture of the southern city of Khan Younis in the coming days and is then expected to attack the last Hamas stronghold in Gaza – Rafah, on the Egyptian border, where more than one million refugees have fled to escape the fighting.
Israel began its military offensive after militants from Hamas-ruled Gaza killed 1,200 people in southern Israel on October 7th, according to Israeli officials. Two hundred and fifty three civilians and soldiers were seized by Hamas and taken into captivity. Some 136 hostages remain in Gaza. The New York Times, quoting an internal assessment conducted by the Israeli military, reported on Tuesday that 32 of the remaining hostages were dead. The Hostage and Missing Families Forum disputed the figure, saying they were told by the military that 31 of the hostages were no longer alive.
Gaza’s health ministry says at least 27,585 Palestinians have been confirmed killed in Israel’s military campaign, with thousands more feared buried under rubble.
Israeli protesters on Tuesday again prevented the passage of humanitarian aid lorries travelling via the Kerem Shalom crossing between southern Israel and Gaza. The protesters claim the aid helps Hamas and should be stopped until the hostages are released.
The disruption comes despite the designation last month by the army of Kerem Shalom as a closed military zone.
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis said on Tuesday they fired naval missiles at two ships, Star Nasia and Morning Tide, in the Red Sea. The leader of the militant group, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, threatened that they “will further escalate” if the Israeli attack on Gaza does not stop.
Houthis have been targeting commercial vessels with drones and missiles in the Red Sea since mid-November, in what they describe as acts of solidarity with Palestinians.
