Israeli soldiers take part in a ground operation, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in a location given as Gaza Strip, in this handout picture released on January 19, 2024.the disagreements stemmed from demands Israel has introduced since Hamas accepted a version of a ceasefire proposal unveiled by US President Joe Biden in May.
In a statement prior to the talks last week, Netanyahu’s office denied making new demands, saying its position built on the previous proposal. That was seen by some of the mediators and Hamas as Israel backtracking on a previous commitment to withdraw from the Netzarim corridor and allow free movement inside Gaza, the source said.
Blinken also pushed back on any suggestion of Israeli troops occupying Gaza on a long-term basis, saying at the press conference that the schedule and location of Israeli military withdrawals were very clear in the agreement. Two of the Hamas officials said the US proposal contained some of the Israeli changes they reject, including allowing “Israel’s continued military presence” along the crossings and releasing some Palestinian prisoners into exile, rather than to Gaza or the West Bank, in any swap for hostages.
Qatar’s international media office did not comment but pointed to a statement issued late Tuesday after the Qatari Prime Minister spoke to Blinken, which urged efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza. In response to questions fromControl over the Philadelphi Corridor frontier area between Gaza and Egypt along with the Rafah border crossing is particularly sensitive for Cairo.