Talks for a hostage and ceasefire deal have not been halted, senior Hamas official Izzat El-Reshiq said on Sunday, dousing initial reports that Israel’s attempt to assassinate the group’s military Mohammed Deif in Gaza had scuttled negotiations.
El-Reshiq accused Israel of trying to derail efforts by mediating countries Egypt and Qatar as well as by the United States to reach an agreement by stepping up its attacks in the coastal enclave.
Saturday’s strike in the Khan Yunis area of Gaza, in which at least 90 Palestinians were killed according to local health authorities, has put the ceasefire talks in doubt.
There had been increasingly hopeful signs in recent days that a deal could be reached to halt fighting and secure the release of the remaining 120 hostages held in Gaza since October 7.
Talks halt in the aftermath of Deif strike
Two Egyptian security sources at ceasefire talks in Doha and Cairo said on Saturday that negotiations had been halted after three days of intense discussions.
Also on Saturday, a senior Hamas official denied that Deif had been killed and the group said Israeli claims were aimed at justifying the attack.
On Sunday, Israeli forces continued to press ahead with aerial and ground shelling of several areas across the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million people, most of whom have been displaced by the war.
The assassination came after the United States intensified its diplomatic efforts to close a three-phase agreement US President Joe Biden unveiled on May 31.
CIA Director William Burns held talks in Cairo and Doha and White House Coordinator of the Middle East and North Africa Brett McGurk visited Israel last week. Mossad Chief David Barnea was in Doha and Shin Bet head Ronen Bar was in Cairo.
It’s possible that Barnea could return to the Qatari capital this week as well, but no specific date has been set for his visit.
Netanyahu told reporters on Saturday night that Hamas has attempted to insert 29 changes into the Biden framework, stressing that “I will not budge a millimeter from the outline that US President Biden has welcomed. I will not add conditions and I will not take away conditions.
“But you should know that neither will I let Hamas budge a millimeter from it. Hamas has sought to add 29 changes to the outline. I told both the negotiating team and the Americans: Not even one change,” Netanyahu said.
He doubled down on his redlines for a deal, which he has insisted falls within Biden’s framework including a refusal to withdraw from the buffer zone along the Egyptian-Gaza border known as the Philadelphi Corridor. He has also insisted that terrorists cannot return to the northern part of the enclave.
Hamas initially demanded that Israel promise to withdraw the IDF from all of Gaza and agree to a permanent ceasefire before the deal gets underway, but it has since dropped that demand. The group has attempted to reassert that issue in other parts of the deal.
Netanyahu has insisted that Hamas must not be allowed to retain military and governance control of Gaza and that Israel must be able to resume fighting once the deal is over to ensure victory over Hamas.
The United States has hoped that the lull in the war, which came into effect during the first phase of the agreement, could be transformed into a permanent ceasefire.