Hamas Rejects Israeli Counterproposal, Negotiations Stall

Hamas has rejected Israel’s latest counterproposal, causing negotiations to stall. A diplomat familiar with the situation stated that Hamas turned down the proposal earlier this week, claiming that it did not meet their key demands. The diplomat added that Hamas believes that the Israeli proposal contains nothing new and sees no need to change their own proposal.

According to senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan, two key demands set by Hamas were not met by the rejected Israeli proposal: the unrestricted return of Gazans to the north and the pullback of IDF troops. Hamdan reiterated that these demands were non-negotiable, and that recent talks in Egypt did not yield any progress. Despite previous discussions held in Doha, a clear breakthrough has not been reached in ongoing negotiations between the two parties.

CIA Director William Burns, Mossad Director David Barnea, and Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar are scheduled to meet in Egypt this weekend to continue ceasefire talks. However, no progress has been made despite these efforts. The ongoing negotiations have focused on a three-phased framework which includes the release of hostages held by Hamas, a six-week ceasefire, the release of Palestinian prisoners and increased humanitarian aid into Gaza. Reporting by Mostafa Salem contributed to this post.