Israel has recalled its negotiators from Doha after deeming mediated talks on a Gaza Truce at a dead end due to demands by Hamas, a senior Israeli official said on March 26, 2024. The official who is close to the Mossad Spymaster and heading up the talks, accused Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar of sabotaging the diplomacy as part of the wider effort to inflame this war over Ramadan.
The warring sides have stepped up negotiations and mediated by Qatar and Egypt on a six-week suspension of Israel’s offensive in return for the proposed release of the 40 of the 130 hostages still held by the Palestinian militant group in Gaza.
Hamas has sought to parlay any deal into an end to the fighting and withdrawal of Israeli forces. Israel has ruled it out sating it would eventually resume efforts to dismantle the governance and military capabilities of Hamas. Hamas also wants hundreds of Palestinian who fled Gaza city and surrounding areas southward during the first stage of the six-month-old war to be allowed back north.
The Israeli officials said that Israel had agreed to double the number of Palestinian it would release in exchange for the hostages to 700-800 prisoners and allow displaced Palestinians to return to northern Gaza. Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on March 26, 2024, that Hamas made delusional demands which it showed that the Palestinians were not interested in a deal.
In Tel Aviv Yafo, a crowd of 300 family members of hostages and their supporters gathered outside the Israeli defence headquarters a deal to be done to release the captives. Some locked themselves inside cages holding placards with photos of their loved ones. No price is too high, one of the signs said.
Hamas has accused Israel of stalling at the talks while it carries out its military offensive. The discussions in Doha are continuing as Palestinians in Gaza face shortages of food, medicine and hospital care and concerns grow that famine will take hold.
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