Israel and Hamas were locked in a high-stakes standoff on Thursday as international mediators strove to get the two sides around the negotiating table amid fears of a wider war involving Iran.
The mediators from the United States, Egypt and Qatar were pressing ahead with talks in Doha aimed at ending the 10-month war in Gaza despite warnings of a boycott by Hamas.
The Palestinian militants will “not engage in negotiations for the sake of negotiations in order to provide cover for Israel to continue its war”, a senior Hamas official told the BBC.
However, previous rounds have seen Hamas take part indirectly via proxies, and Israel has sent a high-level delegation to Doha, with both sides under strong international pressure to end the war and avert an even bigger regional conflict.
The United States and its allies hope that a Gaza ceasefire could persuade Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon to drop their threats of retaliation against Israel, after the killing of a Hezbollah commander in Beirut and Hamas's political chief in Tehran.
The mediators have been hammering out a three-stage plan in which Hamas would release scores of hostages captured in its October 7 attack on Israel in exchange for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
Both sides have agreed in principle to the plan outlined by US President Joe Biden at the end of May. But since then, both Hamas and Israel have proposed changes deemed unacceptable to the other.
Israel's latest demands, rejected by Hamas, include a lasting military presence along the border with Egypt and a line across Gaza where its forces could search Palestinians returning to their homes, to root out militants.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists that Israel is merely seeking “clarifications” but has also cast doubt on the prospects for an enduring ceasefire, adamant that "total victory" over Hamas remains his aim.
