Gaza truce talks on snapping point, Palestinian officers say

[ad_1] Rushdi Abualouf Gaza correspondent

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/460a/live/2eb72e20-5e8a-11f0-b5c5-012c5796682d.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/460a/live/2eb72e20-5e8a-11f0-b5c5-012c5796682d.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/460a/live/2eb72e20-5e8a-11f0-b5c5-012c5796682d.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/460a/live/2eb72e20-5e8a-11f0-b5c5-012c5796682d.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/460a/live/2eb72e20-5e8a-11f0-b5c5-012c5796682d.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/460a/live/2eb72e20-5e8a-11f0-b5c5-012c5796682d.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/460a/live/2eb72e20-5e8a-11f0-b5c5-012c5796682d.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/460a/live/2eb72e20-5e8a-11f0-b5c5-012c5796682d.jpg.webp" loading="eager" alt="Reuters Palestinians look on at the site of an overnight Israeli strike on a school sheltering displaced families, in Gaza City" class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/> Reuters Gaza has been devastated by 21 months of struggle between Israel and Hamas

Negotiations between Israel and Hamas in Qatar on a brand new Gaza ceasefire and hostage launch deal are on the point of collapse, in accordance with Palestinian officers acquainted with the small print of the discussions.

One senior official advised the BBC that Israel had "purchased time" throughout Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's go to to Washington this week and intentionally stalled the method by sending a delegation to Doha with no actual authority to make selections on key factors of rivalry.

They embrace the withdrawal of Israeli troops and humanitarian assist distribution.

Earlier than he left the US on Thursday, Netanyahu had maintained a constructive tone, saying he hoped to finish an settlement "in just a few days".

He stated the proposed deal would see Hamas launch half of the 20 dwelling hostages it's nonetheless holding and simply over half of the 30 useless hostages throughout a truce lasting 60 days.

Since final Sunday, Israeli and Hamas negotiators have attended eight rounds of oblique "proximity" talks in separate buildings in Doha.

They've been facilitated by Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani and senior Egyptian intelligence officers, and attended by US envoy Brett McGurk.

The mediators have relayed dozens of verbal and written messages between the Hamas delegation and the Israeli delegation, which has included navy, safety and political officers.

However on Friday evening, Palestinian officers acquainted with the negotiations advised the BBC they had been on the snapping point, with the 2 sides deeply divided on a number of contentious points.

They stated the latest discussions had centered on two of these points: the mechanism for delivering humanitarian assist in Gaza and the extent of the Israeli navy withdrawal.

Hamas has insisted that humanitarian help should enter Gaza and be distributed through United Nations companies and worldwide reduction organisations.

Israel, then again, is pushing for assist distribution through the controversial Israeli- and US-backed mechanism run by the Gaza Humanitarian Basis (GHF).

In response to mediators concerned within the course of, there was some restricted progress on bridging the divide over this difficulty. Nonetheless, no formal settlement has been reached.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/71bd/live/44db7580-5eda-11f0-a40e-a1af2950b220.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/71bd/live/44db7580-5eda-11f0-a40e-a1af2950b220.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/71bd/live/44db7580-5eda-11f0-a40e-a1af2950b220.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/71bd/live/44db7580-5eda-11f0-a40e-a1af2950b220.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/71bd/live/44db7580-5eda-11f0-a40e-a1af2950b220.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/71bd/live/44db7580-5eda-11f0-a40e-a1af2950b220.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/71bd/live/44db7580-5eda-11f0-a40e-a1af2950b220.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/71bd/live/44db7580-5eda-11f0-a40e-a1af2950b220.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="EPA US President Donald Trump (L) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) converse during a dinner in the Blue Room of the White House in Washington DC (7 July 2025)" class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/> EPA Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) had two conferences with US President Donald Trump (L) in Washington this week

The second main sticking level is over the extent of the Israeli withdrawal.

Throughout the fifth spherical of talks, Israeli negotiators reportedly handed mediators a written message stating that Israel would keep a restricted "buffer zone" inside Gaza that was between 1km and 1.5km (0.6-0.9 miles) deep.

Hamas, in accordance with a Palestinian official who attended at the least two of the rounds of talks, considered this proposal as a potential place to begin for compromise.

Nonetheless, when Hamas requested and obtained a map outlining Israel's proposed withdrawal zones, the doc contradicted the sooner message, exhibiting far deeper navy positions. The map was stated to point buffer zones that had been as much as 3km (1.8 miles) deep in sure areas and confirmed a continued Israeli presence in huge swathes of territory.

They coated the entire southern metropolis of Rafah, 85% of the village of Khuzaa east of Khan Younis, substantial elements of the northern cities of Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun, and japanese neighbourhoods of Gaza Metropolis, akin to Tuffah, Shejaiya and Zeitoun.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/362a/live/5b903650-5ed8-11f0-960d-e9f1088a89fe.png.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/362a/live/5b903650-5ed8-11f0-960d-e9f1088a89fe.png.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/362a/live/5b903650-5ed8-11f0-960d-e9f1088a89fe.png.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/362a/live/5b903650-5ed8-11f0-960d-e9f1088a89fe.png.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/362a/live/5b903650-5ed8-11f0-960d-e9f1088a89fe.png.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/362a/live/5b903650-5ed8-11f0-960d-e9f1088a89fe.png.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/362a/live/5b903650-5ed8-11f0-960d-e9f1088a89fe.png.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/362a/live/5b903650-5ed8-11f0-960d-e9f1088a89fe.png.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Map showing Israeli evacuation or "no-go" zones in Gaza (9 July 2025)" class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/> Hamas officers noticed the map as a bad-faith manoeuvre by Israel, additional eroding belief between the edges.

Palestinian officers accused the Israeli delegation of intentionally stalling to create a constructive diplomatic backdrop for the Israeli prime minister's latest go to to Washington.

"They had been by no means severe about these talks," one senior Palestinian negotiator advised the BBC. "They used these rounds to purchase time and venture a false picture of progress."

The official additionally claimed that Israel was pursuing a long-term technique of pressured displacement underneath the guise of humanitarian planning.

He alleged that Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz's plan to maneuver Palestinians to a "humanitarian metropolis" in Rafah was a part of a broader effort to completely relocate them.

"The aim of concentrating civilians close to the Egyptian border is to pave the way in which for his or her expulsion both throughout the Rafah crossing into Egypt or out via the ocean," the official stated.

On Monday, Katz briefed Israeli reporters that he had instructed the navy to arrange a plan for a brand new camp in Rafah that might initially home about 600,000 Palestinians - and ultimately the entire 2.1 million inhabitants.

In response to the plan, the Palestinians can be safety screened by Israeli forces earlier than being allowed in and never permitted to depart.

Critics, each domestically and internationally, have condemned the proposal, with human rights teams, teachers and attorneys calling it a blueprint for a "focus camp".

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/5479/live/c218ba40-5ed9-11f0-b07b-1b81525fb615.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/5479/live/c218ba40-5ed9-11f0-b07b-1b81525fb615.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/5479/live/c218ba40-5ed9-11f0-b07b-1b81525fb615.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/5479/live/c218ba40-5ed9-11f0-b07b-1b81525fb615.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/5479/live/c218ba40-5ed9-11f0-b07b-1b81525fb615.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/5479/live/c218ba40-5ed9-11f0-b07b-1b81525fb615.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/5479/live/c218ba40-5ed9-11f0-b07b-1b81525fb615.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/5479/live/c218ba40-5ed9-11f0-b07b-1b81525fb615.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Reuters An Israeli tank moves in Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the border (6 July 2025)" class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/> Reuters The UN says 86% of Gaza is inside Israeli-militarized zones or coated by Israeli evacuation orders

With the talks at a vital juncture, the Palestinian facet is looking on the US to intervene extra forcefully and strain Israel to make significant concessions.

With out such intervention, mediators warn, the Doha negotiations might collapse fully.

That may be a situation that might additional complicate regional efforts to succeed in a sturdy ceasefire and avert a broader humanitarian disaster in Gaza.

Diplomats in Doha say there may be nonetheless a slim window for compromise, however that the state of affairs stays fragile.

"This course of is hanging by a thread," one regional official stated. "Except one thing adjustments dramatically and shortly, we could also be heading in direction of a breakdown."

The Israeli navy launched a marketing campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led assault on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, by which about 1,200 folks had been killed and 251 others had been taken hostage.