JERUSALEM:
The United States joined Israel on Thursday in pulling its negotiators from Gaza ceasefire talks, with special envoy Steve Witkoff blaming Hamas for failing to reach a deal and saying Washington would “consider alternative options”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier his government was still seeking a ceasefire despite recalling its negotiators from indirect talks in Qatar, also accusing Hamas of blocking an end to nearly two years of fighting.
Mediators have been shuttling between Israeli and Hamas delegations in Doha for more than two weeks but the talks have failed to yield a breakthrough.
Pressure is mounting over the plight of the more than two million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where the fighting has triggered a dire humanitarian crisis and warnings that “mass starvation” was spreading.
After Hamas submitted its response to mediators on the latest ceasefire proposal, Netanyahu’s office said Israeli negotiators were returning for consultations.
“We are working to reach another deal for the release of our hostages,” Netanyahu said in a speech.
“But if Hamas interprets our willingness to reach a deal as a weakness, as an opportunity to dictate surrender terms that would endanger the State of Israel, it is gravely mistaken.”
Witkoff accused Hamas of not “acting in good faith”, and said the United States was bringing home its team.
Hamas’s response “clearly shows a lack of desire to reach a ceasefire in Gaza,” Witkoff said in a post on social media.
