Hamas talks: Israel mulls other options

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his government is considering ‘alternative options’ to ceasefire talks with Hamas.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, centre, arrives at his office in the Israeli parliament earlier this month. ‘Together with our US allies, we are now considering alternative options to bring our hostages home, end Hamas’s terror rule, and secure lasting peace for Israel and our region,’ he says. AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his government was considering “alternative options” to ceasefire talks with Hamas after Israel and the US recalled their negotiating teams, throwing the future of the negotiations into further uncertainty.

Mr Netanyahu's statement came as a Hamas official said negotiations were expected to resume this week and portrayed the recall of the Israeli and American delegations as a pressure tactic.

Egypt and Qatar, which are mediating the talks alongside the US, said the pause was only temporary and that talks would resume, though they did not say when.

The teams left Qatar on Thursday as President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, said Hamas’s latest response to proposals for a deal showed a “lack of desire” to reach a truce. Mr Witkoff said the US would look at “alternative options”, without elaborating.

In a statement released by his office, Mr Netanyahu echoed Mr Witkoff, saying: "Hamas is the obstacle to a hostage release deal.

“Together with our US allies, we are now considering alternative options to bring our hostages home, end Hamas’s terror rule, and secure lasting peace for Israel and our region,” he said. He did not elaborate. Israel’s government didn’t immediately respond to whether negotiations would resume this week.

A breakthrough on a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas has eluded the Trump administration as experts warn Gaza is being pushed closer to famine, after months of limited access to food. This month, deaths related to malnutrition have accelerated.

More than two dozen Western-aligned countries and more than 100 charity and human rights groups have called for an end to the war, harshly criticising Israel’s blockade and a new aid delivery model it has rolled out. The charities and rights groups said even their own staff were struggling to get enough food.

On Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France would recognise Palestine as a state. “The urgent thing today is that the war in Gaza stops and the civilian population is saved," he said.

Hamas official Bassem Naim said on Friday that the group was told that the Israeli delegation returned home for consultations and would return early this week to resume ceasefire negotiations.

Hamas said that Mr Witkoff's remarks were meant to pressure the group for Mr Netanyahu's benefit during the next round of talks and that in recent days negotiations had made progress.

Mr Naim said several gaps had been nearly solved, such as the agenda of the ceasefire, guarantees to continue negotiating to reach a permanent agreement.

In a joint statement, Egypt and Qatar also said progress had been made.

“It is a natural to pause talks to hold consultations before the resumption of the dialogue once more,” they said.

AP