By Jana Choukeir, Nidal al-Mughrabi and Maytaal Angel
Dubai/Cairo/Jerusalem (Reuters) – The Palestinian Hamas movement and Israel exchanged blame on Wednesday for their failure to reach a ceasefire agreement despite the progress announced by both parties in recent days.
Hamas said that Israel had set more conditions, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the movement of reneging on the understandings that had already been reached.
Hamas said, “The occupation set new conditions related to withdrawal, ceasefire, prisoners, and the return of the displaced, which delayed reaching the agreement that was available.”
She added that she showed flexibility and that the talks mediated by Qatar and Egypt were serious.
Netanyahu responded in a statement: “The Hamas terrorist organization continues to lie, retract the understandings that have already been reached, and continues to create difficulties in the negotiations.”
He added that Israel will, however, continue its tireless efforts to return the hostages.
Israeli negotiators returned to Israel from Qatar on Tuesday evening for consultations on the hostage deal after a long week of talks, Netanyahu's office said on Tuesday.
The United States and Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt have intensified their efforts to reach an interim agreement in the past two weeks. One of the challenges was reaching agreements on the deployment of Israeli forces.
Speaking to military commanders in southern Gaza on Wednesday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Israel would maintain security control over the Strip, including through buffer zones and control sites.
Hamas demands an end to the war, while Israel says it wants to end Hamas' rule of the Strip first, to ensure that it will no longer pose a threat to the Israelis.
Israel continues military pressure
Meanwhile, Israeli forces kept up pressure on the northern Gaza Strip, in one of the most punishing campaigns of the 14-month war, including about three hospitals on the northern edge of the Strip, in Beit Lahia, Beit Hanoun and Jabalia.
The Palestinians accuse Israel of seeking to permanently evacuate northern Gaza in order to create a buffer zone. Israel denies this and says that it has issued instructions to civilians to leave those areas for their safety while its forces fight Hamas militants.
Health officials said that Israeli raids killed at least 24 people across Gaza on Wednesday. They added that one of the raids hit a former school housing displaced families in the Sheikh Radwan suburb of Gaza City.
The Israeli army said that it targeted a Hamas activist who was working in the Al-Furqan area in Gaza City.
A number of Palestinians were killed and wounded in the Al-Mawasi area, a humanitarian zone designated by Israel in southern Gaza, where the army said it was targeting another Hamas activist.
The war was sparked by an October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on southern Israel, in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 hostages were taken in Gaza, according to Israeli statistics.
The Israeli 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 people were displaced, and much of Gaza was reduced to rubble.
(This story has been corrected to change the day to Wednesday in paragraph 9)
