DOHA: Qatar and Egypt announced on Sunday plans to step up efforts for Gaza truce negotiations, as the Palestinian militant group Hamas said it was prepared to “immediately” hold a fresh round of talks.
“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.
Doha, Cairo and Washington have been engaged in months of back-and-forth mediation with Israel and Hamas but another round of negotiations aimed at ending 20 months of war in Gaza this week appeared to conclude once more without a breakthrough.
A two-month truce, in which dozens of hostages held by Hamas were released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, collapsed in March, with Israel intensifying military operations in Gaza afterwards.
Following the statement by the Arab mediators, Hamas said it was ready “to immediately begin a round of indirect negotiations to reach an agreement on the points of contention”.
Hamas previously said it had responded positively -- albeit with requested amendments -- to the latest US-backed truce proposal on Saturday which would see 10 living hostages released form Gaza.
Militants took 251 hostages during the October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel which triggered the war, 57 of whom remain in Gaza including 34 who the Israeli military says are dead.
The United States envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, wrote on X that Hamas’s response was “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,“ the envoy said.
“That is the only way we can close a 60-day ceasefire deal in the coming days,“ he added.
Netanyahu vowed on Monday to bring back all captives in Gaza, “living and dead” amid uncertainty in the hostage negotiations.
Israel has in recent weeks expanded its offensive in the Gaza Strip, drawing international condemnation as aid trickles in following a months-long blockade that has caused severe food and medical shortages.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says at least 4,149 people have been killed in the territory since Israel resumed its offensive on March 18, taking the war’s overall toll to 54,418, mostly civilians.
Hamas’s 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
