An Egyptian source that indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel regarding a prisoner exchange and a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip will resume next week, after reviewing a recent offer submitted by the movement.
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The genocide left more than 203,000 Palestinians dead or wounded, most of them children and women. / AA
8 hours ago
Al-Qahira News Channel quoted an unidentified source as saying that the Israeli delegation left the Qatari capital, Doha, after receiving Hamas' response. Negotiations will resume after the situation is examined, the source said, without providing further details.
This development comes after uncertainty over the fate of the negotiations, following the announcement by both Tel Aviv and US Presidential Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff that they were withdrawing their respective delegations from Doha "for consultations."
In a statement on Thursday, Hamas expressed its surprise at Witkoff's remarks, despite what it described as its "positive and constructive" response, which it submitted at dawn that same day and was welcomed by the mediators. Hamas affirmed its commitment to completing the negotiations.
The statement came in response to statements by Luitkov announcing the return of his country's delegation from Doha, and claiming that Hamas "does not want to reach a ceasefire in Gaza" and that it "does not act in good faith" despite the significant efforts of mediators.
"We will now consider alternative options for returning the hostages (Israeli prisoners in Gaza) home, and trying to provide a more stable environment for the residents of the Strip," Witkov said.
This came shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the withdrawal of his delegation from Doha for consultations. Netanyahu subsequently claimed that his government was working on a new deal to release the prisoners, a move observers viewed as a new "evasiveness" regarding the negotiations with Hamas.
Since July 6, indirect negotiations have been underway in Doha between Hamas and Israel, mediated by Qatar and Egypt and supported by the United States, to conclude a prisoner exchange and ceasefire agreement.
Tel Aviv estimates that there are 50 Israeli detainees in Gaza, 20 of whom are still alive. Meanwhile, more than 10,800 Palestinians are languishing in its prisons, suffering torture, starvation, and medical neglect, many of whom have died, according to Palestinian and Israeli human rights and media reports.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been waging a genocidal war in Gaza, including killing, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement, ignoring all international calls and orders from the International Court of Justice to halt it.
The genocide left more than 203,000 Palestinians dead or wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 9,000 missing, in addition to hundreds of thousands of displaced persons and a famine that claimed the lives of many.
Israel has occupied Palestine and territories in Syria and Lebanon for decades, and refuses to withdraw from these areas and establish an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, along the pre-1967 borders.
