Hamas on Sunday said it is ready to “immediately” resume indirect negotiations for a truce in Gaza, after the latest round of talks appeared to have ended without progress.
“The movement affirms its readiness to immediately begin a round of indirect negotiations to reach an agreement on the points of contention,” Hamas said in a statement.
The announcement came shortly after Qatar and Egypt, the key regional mediators declared a renewed push to broker a ceasefire in coordination with the United States.
“Qatar and Egypt, in coordination with the United States of America, affirm their intention to intensify efforts to overcome the obstacles facing the negotiations,” the two mediators said in a joint statement.
“The two countries are also striving to swiftly reach a 60-day temporary truce, which would pave the way for a permanent ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip,” the statement added.
The effort follows months of back-and-forth diplomacy led by Doha, Cairo and Washington, and comes after a two-month truce deal collapsed in March. That ceasefire had seen dozens of hostages held by Hamas exchanged for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. But fresh negotiations have so far failed to produce a breakthrough.
Hamas says it responded ‘positively’ to US-backed truce proposal
Hamas said it had responded “positively” with some requested amendments to the latest US-backed truce proposal on Saturday, which reportedly involves the release of 10 living hostages.
Since the Hamas-led assault on Israel on October 7, 2023, a total of 251 hostages were taken into Gaza. Of those, 57 remain in captivity, including 34 whom the Israeli military believes to be dead.
The US envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, dismissed Hamas’s response to the proposal as “totally unacceptable and only takes us backward.”
“Hamas should accept the framework proposal we put forward as the basis for proximity talks, which we can begin immediately this coming week,” Witkoff posted on X.
“That is the only way we can close a 60-day ceasefire deal in the coming days,” he added.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday vowed to continue efforts to bring back all the hostages from Gaza, “living and dead,” amid ongoing uncertainty in the ceasefire talks.
Meanwhile, Israel has ramped up its military offensive in Gaza in recent weeks, drawing international condemnation. Humanitarian aid remains limited in the besieged territory, where food and medical supplies are critically short.
According to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, at least 4,149 people have been killed since Israel resumed its offensive on March 18, bringing the war’s total death toll to 54,418 — mostly civilians.
Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel killed 1,218 people, also mostly civilians, according to official figures compiled by AFP.
