By Jana Choukeir, Nidal al-Mughrabi and Maytaal Angel
DUBAI/CAIRO/JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel blamed each other on Wednesday for their failure to reach a ceasefire deal despite progress reported by both sides in recent days.
Hamas said Israel had set new conditions, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the group of going back on agreements already made.
“The occupation set new conditions related to the withdrawal, ceasefire, prisoners and the return of displaced people, which delayed the conclusion of the available agreement,” Hamas said.
He added that he was showing flexibility and that the negotiations, carried out under the mediation of Qatar and Egypt, were serious.
Netanyahu responded in a statement: “The terrorist organization Hamas continues to lie, renege on agreements already reached and continues to create difficulties in negotiations. »
Israel, however, will continue its relentless efforts to return the hostages, he added.
Israeli negotiators returned to Israel from Qatar on Tuesday evening for consultations on a hostage deal after a significant week of talks, Netanyahu’s office announced Tuesday.
U.S. and Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt have stepped up efforts to reach a deal in stages over the past two weeks. One of the challenges has been agreements on the deployment of Israeli troops.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, speaking to commanders in southern Gaza, said Wednesday that Israel would maintain security control of the enclave, including through buffer zones and checkpoints.
Hamas demands an end to the war, while Israel says it first wants to end Hamas’ rule over the enclave, to ensure it no longer poses a threat to Israelis.
ISRAEL NOWING MILITARY PRESSURE
Meanwhile, Israeli forces maintained pressure on the northern Gaza Strip in one of the most punitive campaigns of the 14-month war, notably around three hospitals on the northern edge of the enclave, Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoun and Jabalia.
The Palestinians accuse Israel of seeking to permanently depopulate northern Gaza to create a buffer zone. Israel denies this and says it has ordered civilians to leave these areas for their own safety while its troops fight Hamas militants.
Israeli strikes killed at least 24 people in Gaza on Wednesday, health officials said. A strike hit a former school housing displaced families in the Sheikh Radwan suburb of Gaza City, they added.
The Israeli military said it struck a Hamas militant operating in the Al-Furqan area of Gaza City.
Several Palestinians were killed and injured in the Al-Mawasi area, an Israeli-designated humanitarian zone in southern Gaza, where the army said it was targeting another Hamas member.
The war was sparked by the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage in Gaza, according to Israeli counts.
Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza has since killed more than 45,300 Palestinians, according to health officials in the Hamas-run enclave. Most of the 2.3 million residents have been displaced and much of Gaza is in ruins.
(This story has been corrected to change the day to Wednesday in paragraph 9)
