Key detail stopping Israel and Hamas ceasefire deal

Indirect talks between Hamas and Israel for a ceasefire in Gaza are being held up by one key detail they can’t agree on.

Indirect talks between Hamas and Israel for a ceasefire in Gaza are being held up by Israel’s proposals to keep troops in the territory.

Delegations from both sides began discussions in Qatar last Sunday to try to agree on a temporary halt to the 21-month conflict sparked by Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

Both Hamas and Israel have said that 10 living hostages who were taken that day and who are still in captivity would be released if an agreement for a 60-day ceasefire were reached.

But one well-informed Palestinian source said Israel’s refusal to withdraw all of its troops from Gaza was holding back progress on securing a deal.

“The negotiations in Doha are facing a setback and complex difficulties due to Israel’s insistence, as of Friday, on presenting a map of withdrawal, which is actually a map of redeployment and repositioning of the Israeli army rather than a genuine withdrawal,” the source said, according to AFP.

Hamas has said it wants the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, which is home to more than two million people.

Yemenis brandish their rifles and chant slogans during a rally in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and in condemnation of Israel and the US, in the Huthi-run capital Sana.

The source said, however, that the Israeli delegation presented a map at the talks which proposed maintaining military forces in more than 40 percent of the Palestinian territory.

“Hamas’s delegation will not accept the Israeli maps... as they essentially legitimise the reoccupation of approximately half of the Gaza Strip and turn Gaza into isolated zones with no crossings or freedom of movement,” the source added.

Mediators have asked both sides to postpone the talks until the arrival of US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, in Doha, they added.

A second Palestinian source said “some progress” had been made on plans for releasing Palestinian prisoners and getting more aid to Gaza.

But they accused the Israeli delegation of having no authority, and “stalling and obstructing the agreement in order to continue the war of extermination”.

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NETANYAHU ‘READY TO NEGOTIATE’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed that Israel is ready to negotiate a permanent ceasefire in Gaza during a 60-day truce but only if the Palestinian territory was demilitarised.

Delegations from Israel and Hamas began indirect talks in Doha on Sunday to try to agree a temporary halt in the war, which was sparked by the militant group’s October 2023 attack.

US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff has proposed a 60-day ceasefire in exchange for the release of half of the 20 living hostages still in Gaza, Mr Netanyahu said.

Benjamin and Sara Netanyahu with US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth and his wife Jennifer in Washington DC this week. Picture: Getty Images via AFP

“At the beginning of this ceasefire, we will enter negotiations for a permanent end to the war,” he said in a video message from Washington on Thursday local time.

He said Israel’s “fundamental conditions” were that “Hamas lays down its weapons” and no longer has “governing or military capabilities”.

“If this can be achieved through negotiations, great. If it cannot be achieved through negotiations within 60 days, we will achieve it through other means, by using force, the force of our heroic army,” he said.

This picture taken from western Jabalia in the central Gaza Strip shows smoke plumes rising from Israeli bombardment in eastern Gaza City. Picture: AFP

Hamas said earlier this week it had agreed to release 10 living hostages but on Thursday local time it said it opposed a deal that includes a large Israeli military presence in Gaza.

It also wants the free flow of aid into the territory to ease a humanitarian crisis, and “real guarantees” for a lasting peace.

The Israeli premier called Hamas “a ruthless terror organisation” and said he wanted the release of all those being held.

But he added: “We will do everything in order to maximise (the number of those released) in this round, in the best way possible. Not everything is in our hands.”

A picture shows Israeli troops and tanks deployed near the border with the Gaza Strip. Picture: AFP

RUBIO ‘HOPEFUL’ OVER CEASEFIRE

It comes as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he was “hopeful” about the prospect of a ceasefire in Gaza, telling reporters on Thursday local time that negotiations were “closer” than they had been in some time.

“We’re hopeful … It appears that generally the terms have been agreed to, but obviously now you need to have talks about how you implement those terms,” Mr Rubio said.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters the US was “hopeful” for a ceasefire but Hamas is stuck on terms involving IDF troops and aid in the territory. Picture: AFP

“I think perhaps we’re closer than we’ve been in quite a while, and we’re hopeful, but we also recognise there are still some challenges in the way.”

He acknowledged that previous rounds of talks had fallen apart at similar stages.

“One of the fundamental challenges is Hamas’ unwillingness to disarm, which would end this conflict immediately,” Mr Rubio said.

The top US diplomat added that “the Israelis have shown some flexibility”.

Senior Hamas official Bassem Naim told AFP, “We cannot accept the perpetuation of the occupation of our land and the surrender of our people to isolated enclaves under the control of the occupation army (Israel).

Israeli troops deploy at Israel's border fence with the Gaza Strip. Hamas won’t agree to truce with IDF presence in Gaza. Picture: AFP

“This is what the negotiating delegation is presenting to the occupation so far in the current round of negotiations in Doha.”

Naim also said the group wanted an end to the current delivery of aid by a US- and Israel-backed group, a system which has seen scores killed while seeking handouts.

On Thursday, eight children were among 17 killed in an Israeli strike at a medical point in Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, the civil defence agency said.

Palestinians pray over the bodies of 10 people, including two women and five children, killed in an Israeli strike while they were waiting to receive nutritional supplements at a medical clinic in the Gaza Strip, Thursday, July 10, 2025. Picture: AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana

The IDF said it had struck a Hamas militant in the city who had infiltrated Israel during the group’s October 7, 2023 attack and that it “regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and operates to minimise harm as much as possible”, adding the incident was under review.

Meanwhile, Hamas has given no timeline for the release of hostages or indications about the return of the bodies of nine detainees that Israel says have died in captivity.

– with AFP

Originally published as Key detail stopping Israel and Hamas ceasefire deal