Gaza truce faces collapse as US, Israel pull negotiators over ‘selfish’ Hamas
US envoy Steve Witkoff accused Hamas of not ‘acting in good faith’ while Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was still seeking ceasefire despite recalling negotiators.
US envoy Steve Witkoff announced Washington was joining Israel in pulling negotiators back from Gaza peace talks in the Qatari capital, accusing Hamas of not “acting in good faith.”
Israel announced late Thursday AEST that it had recalled its negotiators from Gaza ceasefire talks with Hamas, after the militant group confirmed it had responded to an Israeli proposal for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza.
In a statement, Mr Wikoff said the US had “decided to bring our team home from Doha for consultations after the latest response from Hamas, which clearly shows a lack of desire to reach a ceasefire in Gaza”.
“While the mediators have made a great effort, Hamas does not appear to be co-ordinated or acting in good faith.”
Mr Witkoff said Washington would now “consider alternative options to bring the hostages home and try to create a more stable environment for the people of Gaza. It is a shame that Hamas has acted in this selfish way”.
Hamas’ response had included proposed amendments to clauses on the entry of aid, maps of areas from which the Israeli army should withdraw, and guarantees on securing a permanent end to the war, according to a Palestinian source familiar with ongoing talks in Doha.
Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was still seeking a Gaza ceasefire despite recalling its negotiators and said Hamas should not view his country’s willingness to reach a truce deal as a “weakness”.
“We are working to reach another deal for the release of our hostages. But if Hamas interprets our willingness to reach a deal as weakness, as an opportunity to dictate surrender terms that would endanger the State of Israel, it is gravely mistaken,” he said in a speech.
Negotiators from both sides have been holding indirect talks in Doha with mediators in an attempt to reach an agreement on a truce deal that would see the release of Israeli hostages.
Of the 251 hostages taken during Hamas’s 2023 attack, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.
The talks had dragged on for more than two weeks without a breakthrough, with each side blaming the other for refusing to budge on their key demands.
For Israel, dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities is non-negotiable, while Hamas demands firm guarantees on a lasting truce, a full withdrawal of Israeli troops and the free flow of aid into Gaza.
We have decided to bring our team home from Doha for consultations after the latest response from Hamas, which clearly shows a lack of desire to reach a ceasefire in Gaza. While the mediators have made a great effort, Hamas does not appear to be coordinated or acting in good…
— Special Envoy for Peace Missions Steve Witkoff (@SEPeaceMissions) July 24, 2025
Israeli government spokesman David Mencer on Wednesday accused Hamas of obstructing talks.
“Israel has agreed to the Qatari proposal and the updated (US special envoy Steve) Witkoff proposal, it is Hamas that is refusing,” Mr Mencer told reporters.
Twenty-eight countries, including Australia, European nations, Canada and Japan, issued a joint statement this week rebuking Israel and saying its “aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity.”
Israel’s Foreign Ministry said the statement was “disconnected from reality and sends the wrong message to Hamas.”
More than 100 aid organisations on Wednesday said Israel’s blockade and ongoing military offensive were pushing Palestinians in the Gaza Strip towards “mass starvation”.
Experts say Gaza is at risk of famine because of Israel’s blockade and the offensive launched in response to Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack.
The head of the World Health Organisation said Gaza was “witnessing a deadly surge” in malnutrition and related diseases, and a “large proportion” of its roughly two million people were starving.
Israel has refused to allow the UN to distribute food in Gaza because it alleges that the UNRWA has ties to Hamas, and said some of its members participated in the 2023 attacks on Israel.
Hamas has insisted that it wants the UN and Red Crescent to oversee food aid distribution, and to cut the relatively new Gaza Humanitarian Foundation — a joint US and Israeli venture — out of distributing food.
Israel says it allows enough aid into the territory and faults delivery efforts by UN agencies, which say they are hindered by Israeli restrictions and the breakdown of security.
Hamas has said it would release the remaining 50 hostages it holds, around 20 of them believed to be alive, only in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal. Israel has vowed to recover all the captives and continue the war until Hamas has been defeated or disarmed.
In an open letter, 115 organisations, including major international aid groups such as Doctors Without Borders, Mercy Corps and Save the Children, said they were watching their own colleagues, as well as the Palestinians they serve, “waste away”.
The letter blamed Israeli restrictions and “massacres” at aid-distribution points.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry rejected the criticism in the open letter and accused the groups of “echoing Hamas’ propaganda”.
AP, AFP
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