Hamas and Israel fail to reach agreement on ending war in Gaza
Hamas and Israel
have failed to bridge key differences over ending the war in
Gaza
.
Two Palestinian sources told Reuters news agency that the Israeli delegation to the talks – which are being mediated by Qatar and Egypt – did not have a mandate to reach an agreement. Consequently, all eyes have turned to Washington, DC, where US president
Donald Trump
and Israeli prime minister
Binyamin Netanyahu
are due to meet on Monday night.
Under the proposed 60-day ceasefire, Israeli hostages would be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners, Israel's army would withdraw to a buffer zone along the borders with Egypt and Israel, United Nations and international agencies would resume aid deliveries, and talks on halting the war would take place.
However, Hamas is also demanding US, Qatari and Egyptian guarantees that the war will end after the expiry of the ceasefire despite Netanyahu's insistence that Israel must be free to resume the 21-month conflict.
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Halting the war is an existential requirement for Gaza's 2.3 million Palestinians, many of whom have blamed Hamas for providing justification for the war by, according to Israeli figures, killing 1,200 people and abducting another 250 in a raid on southern Israel on October 7th, 2023. Fifty hostages remain in Gaza, with 20 believed to be still alive.
Israel has subsequently killed more than 57,000 Palestinians in its retaliatory war in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
In exchange for accepting the deal, Hamas is prepared to end its rule of Gaza, handing over to a Palestinian committee of technocrats and placing surviving commanders from Hamas in exile from the strip.
Hamas could hang on to some of the 50 Israeli captives until its demand to end the war is met. It has no other leverage over Israel and its ally, the US.
Hamas has been terminally weakened by Israel's offensive. A lieutenant colonel in its security forces told the BBC that it has lost control of about 80 per cent of Gaza and there is 'barely anything left' of its military structures.
The situation on the ground has become anarchic. As Hamas's security forces have been degraded by Israel, half a dozen armed criminal gangs, including at least one backed by Israel, have operated freely, looting supplies and preying on civilians.
Since Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza began, mediators have brokered ceasefires in November 2023 and January 2025 during which hostages were freed in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners, while aid deliveries took place.
On March 2nd, Israel halted the flow of food, water, medicine and fuel and on March 18th it resumed the war.
Since then, Israeli air raids and ground operations have achieved Netanyahu's primary objective of eliminating Hamas as a paramilitary and political organisation.
Nevertheless, his right-wing coalition partners national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and finance minister Bezalel Smotrich have threatened to leave the coalition if Netanyahu ends the war.
He has faced counter-pressure from Israeli hostages' families and tens of thousands of their supporters who have given priority to the release of the 20 living and 30 deceased hostages held by Hamas and urged a halt to the war.
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