Hamas suspends hostage talks, orders Israeli army leave Gaza

Hamas has reportedly called off negotiations with Israel on a proposed hostage release plan, demanding that Israel first withdraw its troops from the Gaza Strip.

Qatar, which has been working as a mediator between the sparring groups, relayed the suspension to Israel on Wednesday, sources familiar with the details said, according to i24 News.

Qatar stressed Hamas’ demand for a “package deal,” including the complete removal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip during the first phase of the agreement, while Israel has repeatedly tried to negotiate one stage of a cease-fire at a time.

Removing all Israeli forces from Gaza would effectively end the war, now nearing its fourth month without the two sides coming to a long-term agreement.

Despite the apparent rejection of Hamas’ bid, Israeli officials say there is still a chance for the two sides to come to broker a cease-fire, which anonymous officials told Reuters earlier this week was on the table.

Before Hamas’ demand to remove Israeli soldiers from Gaza, the two sides were in talks to allow for the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners throughout a month-long cease-fire.

The break in hostilities would allow for the release of over 130 hostages still held in Gaza, as well as the release of Palestinian prisoners and additional aid for Gaza.

That arrangement followed what one source called “intensive” mediation talks led by Qatar, Washington and Egypt.

Hamas first proposed a break of several months, one source claimed, though Israel disagreed and the timeframe was lowered to about 30 days.

The two groups have not been able to agree upon how much they want to negotiate at a time, with Hamas declining to move forward until the future conditions of a permanent cease-fire are determined, while Israel just wants to negotiate one stage at a time, several sources told the outlet.

Hamas hopes to get “a package deal” agreement to a permanent cease-fire before it agrees to release any of the hostages, a Palestinian official involved in mediation efforts said.

Israel and Hamas are in contact solely through mediators.

Those involved in the mediation process said they were working to convince Hamas to accept a one-month truce followed by a permanent cease-fire — a deal Hamas has refused without guarantees that Israel will not restart the conflict.

Israel allegedly offered to end the war if Hamas removed six senior officials from Gaza, though Hamas “absolutely” rejected the proposal, an anonymous Hamas official told Reuters.

The shocking onslaught in southern Israel killed about 1,200 people, while Israel’s response has killed over 25,000 Palestinians.

A week-long truce in November led to the release of over 100 hostages and around 240 Palestinian prisoners.

Israel and Hamas began negotiating another break in the fighting on Dec. 28.

Despite the two sides holding strong to their positions, one of the sources said a deal could be reached “at any minute.”

With Post wires