Israel and Hamas have accused each other of complicating ceasefire efforts as the two sides inch closer to a deal that could wind down the 14-month war in Gaza.
It emerged last week that a ceasefire deal which would also see Israeli hostages freed was believed to be close, after months of deadlock while Israel’s 14-month war in Gaza continues to rage.
The Independent previously reported that the truce being discussed would last for an initial 60 days, with Israeli forces likely to pull out of city centres in Gaza and the coastal road – but stopping short of the complete withdrawal for which Hamas has consistently demanded.
In a new statement, Hamas said: “The occupation has set new conditions related to withdrawal, ceasefire, prisoners, and the return of the displaced, which has delayed reaching the agreement that was available.”
However, in a more positive tone, the militant group said the negotiations – mediated by Qatar – were progressing in a serious direction, and insisted that it was showing flexibility during the talks.
But Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu hit back on Wednesday to accuse the Palestinian militant group of lying.
“The terrorist organisation Hamas is lying again,” Mr Netanyahu’s office said in a statement, accusing the group of “reneging on the understandings already reached, and continuing to make it difficult for the negotiations.”
“Nevertheless, Israel will continue tirelessly in its efforts to bring home all of our hostages,” Mr Netanyahu’s office said.
Mr Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israeli negotiators – including senior personnel from Mossad, Shin Bet and the Israeli military – were returning from Qatar for “internal consultations” following a week of significant negotiations.
According to Palestinian health authorities, more than 45,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began on 7 October, triggered by Hamas’s cross-border incursion which left 1,200 people dead and saw some 250 people taken hostage.
Around 90 per cent of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been forced from their homes, while some 60 living hostages, mainly Israelis, are believed to be still in captivity in Gaza as well as the bodies of 35 others.
However, an Israeli official told the Jerusalem Post on Tuesday that Hamas has yet to deliver the list of hostages who are alive, warning that “without it, it’s impossible to reach a deal”. He claimed that Mohammed Sinwar, brother of slain Hamas leader Yayha Sinwar, was refusing to hand the list over.
The US, Qatar and Egypt, who are leading mediation efforts, have in recent weeks described a greater willingness on both sides to wrap up a deal – with both the Biden administration and US president-elect Donald Trump signalling that they want a deal complete before his inauguration on 20 January.
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told Fox News last week: “We believe – and the Israelis have said this – that we’re getting closer, and no doubt about it, we believe that, but we also are cautious in our optimism. “We’ve been in this position before where we weren’t able to get it over the finish line.”
According to his spokesperson, Israeli defence minister Israel Katz told Israeli parliamentarians last Monday: “We have not been this close to an agreement on the hostages since the previous deal,” referring to an exchange of hostages and Palestinian prisoners in Israel in November 2023.
A senior Palestinian official involved in the negotiations also told the BBC last week that talks had reached a “decisive and final phase”, and were centred around a three-phase plan which would see civilians and women soldiers still held hostage in Gaza released in the first 45 days.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces kept up military pressure on Gaza. Medics said Israeli military strikes killed at least 24 people across the Strip on Wednesday. One of the strikes targeted a school sheltering displaced families in Gaza City’s suburb of Sheikh Radwan, they added.
The Israeli military said it struck a Hamas militant operating in the area of Al-Furqan in Gaza City.
Several Palestinians were also killed and wounded in the Al-Mawasi area, an Israeli-designated humanitarian zone in Khan Younis in southern Gaza Strip, where the military said the strike targeted another Hamas operative operating there.
The ministry of health in the Hamas-run Gaza said Israeli forces continued to besiege the only three hospitals, barely operational in the northern edge of the enclave, surrounding Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoun and Jabalia.
The Israeli army forced officials at the Indonesian hospital to evacuate patients and staff on Tuesday and continued to operate in the vicinity of the nearby Kamal Adwan Hospital. They also ordered that hospital evacuated but officials there refused, citing risks to dozens of patients.
Additional reporting by Reuters
