فاس نيوز ميديا جريدة الكترونية جهوية تعنى بشؤون و أخبار جهة فاس مكناس – متجددة على مدار الساعة
On Saturday, Hamas and Israel exchanged accusations over hindering indirect negotiations aimed at reaching a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, where more than 20 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes, according to the local Civil Defense.
A Palestinian source close to the talks, launched last Sunday in Doha through foreign mediators, blamed “Israel’s insistence” on a plan for partial troop withdrawal from Gaza, which Hamas “firmly rejects.”
In response, an Israeli political official accused the Palestinian Islamist movement of refusing to “make compromises” and conducting “psychological warfare aimed at sabotaging the negotiations.”
The Gaza war was triggered by an unprecedented Hamas attack inside Israel on October 7, 2023. In retaliation, the Israeli army launched a destructive offensive, seizing large parts of the Palestinian coastal enclave.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently reaffirmed his country’s objectives: to free the hostages still held, disarm Hamas, and expel it from Gaza.
Obstacles in Doha Negotiations
The Palestinian source told AFP that the Doha talks face “complex obstacles and difficulties,” noting that Israel insists on a plan that would maintain its forces on more than 40% of Gaza’s territory.
According to the source, the Israeli army is considering redeploying around the entire territory, home to over two million people who have been besieged by Israel for 21 months and are living in dire conditions, according to the UN.
Seven UN agencies issued a joint statement warning that Gaza’s fuel shortage has reached a “critical level,” constituting a “new unbearable burden” for a “population on the brink of famine.”
Mutual Accusations
The Palestinian source accused Israel of aiming to “concentrate hundreds of thousands of displaced people in southern Gaza, in preparation for forced displacement to Egypt or other countries.”
A second Palestinian source told AFP that Hamas demands a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from all areas retaken by Israel after March 2, 2025, accusing Israel of “delaying and obstructing the agreement to continue its war of extermination.”
However, the source acknowledged “progress” on issues related to humanitarian aid entry into Gaza and the exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Of the 251 people abducted during the October 7 attack, 49 remain held in Gaza, including 27 declared dead by the Israeli army.
Israeli Positions
An Israeli official denounced Hamas as “intransigent and entrenched in its positions,” asserting that Israel has “demonstrated willingness to be flexible in the negotiations.”
Before returning from a visit to the United States, where he met President Donald Trump, Netanyahu said on Thursday he was ready to negotiate a permanent ceasefire in Gaza after a possible 60-day truce, but conditioned a permanent ceasefire on Hamas’s disarmament and relinquishment of governance over the territory.
Field Developments
In Gaza, among the more than 20 reported deaths, a man, his wife, and their child were killed in their tent after an Israeli nighttime strike on a displaced persons camp in Deir al-Balah, according to Mahmoud Bassal, spokesperson for Civil Defense.
The Israeli army stated it had “struck approximately 250 terrorist targets” over the past 48 hours across Palestinian territory.
These targets included “fighters, booby-trapped buildings, weapons depots, anti-tank missile launch sites, sniper posts, tunnels, and other terrorist infrastructure,” it detailed.
Due to media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing the ground, AFP cannot independently verify the casualty figures and claims made by the different parties.
Death Toll
The October 7 attack resulted in 1,219 Israeli deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official data.
At least 57,882 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in the Israeli retaliatory campaign in Gaza, according to data from the Hamas-run Ministry of Health, considered reliable by the UN.
This ongoing situation highlights the complexity of the humanitarian and political crisis in Gaza amid continuous international efforts to reach a solution that halts the cycle of violence and alleviates civilian suffering.
