Hamas says latest cease-fire talks have ended

By Josef Federman and Kareem Chehayeb The Associated Press

7 months ago

Israeli soldiers drive a tank at a staging ground near the border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

Israeli soldiers work on a tank at a staging ground near the border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

Yemeni students carry anti-Israel and anti-U.S. banners during a march organized by Houthis, to show solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, May 5, 2024. The Arabic reads, "God is great, Death to Israel, Death to America". (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a press conference in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv, Israel on Oct. 28, 2023. Netanyahu pledged Tuesday, April 30 to launch an incursion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering from the almost 7-month-long war, just as cease-fire negotiations between Israel and Hamas appear to be gaining steam. (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP, File)

JERUSALEM — The latest round of Gaza cease-fire talks ended in Cairo after “in-depth and serious discussions,” the Hamas terrorist group said Sunday, reiterating key demands that Israel again rejected. After signs of progress, the outlook appeared to dim.

Israel closed its main crossing point for delivering humanitarian aid for Gaza after Hamas attacked it. The defense minister said Hamas wasn’t serious about a deal and warned of “a powerful operation in the very near future in Rafah and other places across all of Gaza.”

Israel didn’t send a delegation to the talks mediated by Egypt and Qatar, and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that “we see signs that Hamas does not intend to go to any agreement.” Egyptian state media reported that the Hamas delegation went for discussions in Qatar, where the group has a political office, and will return to Cairo for further negotiations on Tuesday.

Another threat to talks came as Israel ordered the local offices of Qatar’s Al Jazeera satellite news network to close, accusing it of broadcasting anti-Israel incitement. The ban did not appear to affect the channel’s operations in Gaza or the West Bank.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, under pressure from hard-liners in his government, continued to lower expectations for a cease-fire deal, calling the key Hamas demands “extreme” — including the withdrawal of Israel forces from Gaza and an end to the war. That would equal surrender after the Hamas terrorist attack on Oct. 7 that triggered the fighting, Netanyahu said.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in a statement earlier said the terrorist group was serious and positive about the negotiations and that stopping Israeli aggression in Gaza is the main priority.

But Israel’s government again vowed to press on with a military operation in Rafah, the southernmost Gaza city on the border with Egypt where more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents now seek shelter from Israeli attacks. Rafah is a key entry point for aid.

Kerem Shalom, now closed, is another. The Israeli military reported 10 projectiles were launched at the crossing in southern Israel and said its fighter jets later struck the source. Hamas said it had been targeting Israeli soldiers in the area. Israel’s Channel 12 TV channel said 10 people were wounded, three seriously. It was unclear how long the crossing would be closed.

The head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, Philippe Lazzarini, called for an independent investigation and “accountability for the blatant disregard of humanitarian workers.” He also said Israel this week denied him entry to Gaza for a second time.

Gaza’s vast humanitarian needs put further pressure on the pursuit of a cease-fire. The proposal that Egyptian mediators had put to Hamas sets out a three-stage process that would bring an immediate, six-week cease-fire and partial release of Israeli hostages taken in the Oct. 7 terrorist attack, and would include some sort of Israeli pullout. The initial stage would last for 40 days. Hamas would start by releasing female civilian hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Netanyahu said that Israel has shown willingness to make concessions but said it “will continue fighting until all of its objectives are achieved.” That includes the stated aim of crushing Hamas. Israel says it must target Rafah to strike remaining fighters there despite warnings from the U.S. and others about the danger to civilians.

In later remarks for Israel’s annual Holocaust memorial day, Netanyahu added: “We will defend ourselves in every way. We will overcome our enemies and we will ensure our security — in the Gaza Strip, on the Lebanese border, everywhere.”

The Hamas cross-border terrorist attack on Oct. 7 killed some 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage. Israel says terrorists still hold around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others. Netanyahu is under growing pressure from some hostages’ families to make a deal to end the war and get hostages freed.

Israeli’s air and ground offensive has killed over 34,500 people, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza. The Health Ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count.

Israel blames Hamas for civilian deaths, accusing it of embedding in residential and public areas. The Israeli military says it has killed 13,000 terrorists.