Cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas again at impasse

Jerusalem: The latest round of negotiations between Israel and Hamas hit an impasse Sunday as mediators struggled to bridge remaining gaps and a Hamas delegation departed the talks in Cairo, according to two senior Hamas officials and two other officials familiar with the talks. An Israeli official also confirmed the negotiations had stalled and described them as being in “crisis.”

For months, negotiations aimed at achieving a cease-fire and a release of hostages have made little progress, but signs the two sides were coming closer to an agreement appeared over the past week. Israel backed off some of its long-held demands, and a top Hamas official said the group was studying the latest Israeli offer with a “positive spirit.”

But the setback over the weekend meant Palestinians living in miserable conditions in the Gaza Strip would not experience an imminent reprieve, and the families of hostages held by militants would have to wait longer for the freedom of their loved ones.

The main obstacle in the talks was the duration of a cease-fire, with Hamas demanding it be permanent and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel expressing openness to only a temporary halt in the fighting.

Hamas blamed the lack of progress on Netanyahu, who vowed again in recent days that the Israeli army will invade Rafah, the southernmost town in the Gaza Strip, with or without an agreement.

“We were very close, but Netanyahu’s narrow-mindedness aborted an agreement,” Mousa Abu Marzouk, a senior Hamas official, said in a phone interview.

Netanyahu has for weeks declared his intention to stage a ground offensive aimed at Rafah, where about 1 million Palestinians have been sheltering. The Biden administration has been pressing Israel to refrain from undertaking a major operation in the city.

On Sunday, Hamas fired roughly 10 rockets from the area of the Rafah border crossing, killing three soldiers near the Kerem Shalom crossing, according to Israel’s military. Rocket attacks by Hamas have been relatively rare in recent months, and Israel said it had responded with airstrikes targeting the site of the launches.

The Israeli official who spoke on the condition of anonymity said Israel and Hamas were closer to a deal a couple of days ago, but that Netanyahu’s statements about Rafah had compelled Hamas to harden its demands in an attempt to ensure that Israeli forces won’t enter the city.