Israel blames Hamas for ‘deadlock’ in Gaza truce talks, negotiators leave Doha

Israel has recalled negotiators from Doha as it considers mediated talks on a ceasefire in Gaza to be “at a dead end” due to demands from Hamas, a senior Israeli official said on Tuesday.

The official, who is close to the Mossad spy chief in charge of the talks, accused Hamas’ Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar of sabotaging diplomacy “as part of a broader effort to foment a Ramadan war.”

The warring parties, mediated by Qatar and Egypt, have stepped up negotiations to demand that Israel suspend its offensive for six weeks in exchange for the release of 40 of the 130 hostages still held by Palestinian militant groups in Gaza.

Hamas seeks to exploit any deal to end the fighting and withdraw Israeli forces. Israel has ruled out that possibility and said it would eventually resume efforts to dismantle Hamas’s governance and military capabilities.

Hamas also wants to allow hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled southward to Gaza City and surrounding areas during the first phase of the nearly six-month war to return to the north.

Israel has agreed to double the number of Palestinians released in exchange for taking 700 to 800 prisoner hostages and allowing some displaced Palestinians to return to northern Gaza, officials said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Tuesday that Hamas had made “delusional” demands that showed the Palestinians were not interested in reaching a deal.

In Tel Aviv, about 300 family members and supporters of the hostages gathered outside the Israeli Defense Headquarters, demanding an agreement to release the hostages.

Some people locked themselves in cages in protest, holding placards with photos of their loved ones. One of the signs read: “There’s no price too high.”

Hamas accuses Israel of delaying negotiations as it launches a military offensive.

Discussions continue in Doha, where Palestinians in Gaza face severe shortages of food, medicine and hospital care, amid growing fears that the famine will continue.