Gaza war: Hamas says Israeli operations threaten ceasefire talks

On Monday evening, Hamas put out a statement saying its Doha-based political leader Ismail Haniyeh had made “urgent contacts” with Egyptian and Qatari mediators over what it called continued “massacres, killing and displacement” of Palestinians by Israeli forces.

“Haniyeh warned of the disastrous repercussions of what is happening in Gaza City, Rafah and other areas across the Gaza Strip, noting that this could bring the negotiating process back to square one,” it added.

Another Hamas statement accused the Israeli prime minister of “placing additional obstacles in the way of the negotiations”.

Last Thursday Mr Netanyahu told Israel’s negotiators to resume work after Hamas dropped its demand for a permanent ceasefire at the outset of a proposed deal outlined by US President Joe Biden at the end of May.

But expectations were dampened on Sunday by a statement from the prime minister’s office which insisted that four principles had to be part of any agreement.

One was that Israel could “resume fighting until all of objectives of the war have been achieved” – something Hamas has previously rejected. The others were that there would be no weapons smuggling into Gaza from Egypt, that armed fighters would not be allowed to return to northern Gaza, and that Israel would maximize the number of living hostages released.

A deal agreed in November saw Hamas release 105 of the hostages in return for a week-long ceasefire and some 240 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Israel says 116 hostages are still being held, 41 of whom are presumed dead.

Mr Biden said the proposed new deal involved three phases.

The first would include a “full and complete ceasefire” lasting six weeks, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from populated areas of Gaza, and the exchange of some of the hostages – including women, the elderly and the sick or wounded – for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.

The second phase would involve the release of all other living hostages and a “permanent end to hostilities”. The third phase would see the start of a major reconstruction plan for Gaza and the return of dead hostages’ remains.