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Indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas in Qatar revolve around how to progress beyond the first stage of the three-phase ceasefire.
ADVERTISEMENTThe ceasefire in Gaza remains in limbo as indirect negotiations in Qatar attempt to secure an extension of the fragile truce between Israel and Hamas.
The first stage of a three-phase deal brokered by the US, Qatar and Egypt ended on 1 March, and there is still no clarity on what will happen next since the second phase has not yet been hammered out.
Fighting in Gaza has been halted since mid-January under the first phase, which saw Hamas release 25 Israeli hostages and the bodies of eight more in exchange for more than 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
During that phase, Israel and Hamas were due to discuss the second stage of the truce that called for the two sides to negotiate the return of the remaining hostages in return for more Palestinian prisoners, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and a lasting ceasefire.
However, Israel has demanded that Hamas release more Israeli hostages before negotiations on the second phase begin. The Israeli government has made no mention of releasing more Palestinian prisoners — a key component of the first phase.
Hamas has accused Israel of trying to sabotage the existing agreement by deliberately delaying talks. This week, White House envoy Steve Witkoff travelled to Qatar to mediate indirect negotiations between the two sides, but no concrete progress was made.
Hamas spokesperson Abdullatif Al-Qanou told Euronews that the group had clearly shown its intent to maintain the current ceasefire and be flexible in negotiations.
“We displayed a great deal of flexibility with the efforts of mediators and Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff,” he said.
“We fully complied with the terms of the first phase,” al-Qanou added. “Our only priority right now is to help our struggling population, sheltering them and guaranteeing their safety through a permanent cessation of hostilities.”
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced criticism at home for not entering into negotiations on the next stage of the deal. Netanyahu’s narrow coalition is beholden to far-right allies who have said they want to destroy Hamas and depopulate Gaza.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has threatened to bring down the government if Netanyahu enters the second phase of the existing deal and does not resume the war.
Earlier this month, Yair Golan, the leader of Israel’s centre-left Labour party, accused the government of dragging its feet.
“Israel had signed an agreement that was supposed to begin negotiations for the second phase on day 16 of the first phase. However, Israel has avoided these negotiations,” he told Israeli daily Maariv on 2 March.
Hamas has demanded that Israel withdraw its troops from the Philadelphi Corridor — a 14km strip along the border with Egypt — in line with the first phase of the truce. However, senior Israeli ministers have said in recent weeks that the country will maintain a military presence along the corridor for “national security” purposes.
Hamas dismisses Trump threats
Since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House for a second term on 20 January, he has been vocal in his support for Israel and threatened Hamas.
ADVERTISEMENTIn a social media post on 6 March, Trump demanded that Hamas release the remaining Israel hostages immediately “or there will be hell to pay later”.
Al-Qanou said Hamas did not take Trump’s threats seriously, nor those made by Israel.
Four days before Trump’s latest threat, Israel cut off all supplies to Gaza and its more than 2 million people in a bid to put more pressure on Hamas in the truce negotiations. Israeli authorities followed this up by last week cutting off the electricity supply to a desalination plant for drinking water.
The foreign ministers of France, Germany and the UK issued a joint statement calling the humanitarian situation in Gaza “catastrophic” and voicing their concern at Israel’s action.
ADVERTISEMENTHamas has described the aid halt as “collective punishment” and maintains it will not be pressured into making concessions.
Al-Qanou said that regardless of what tactics Israel deploys, its “dream” of a Gaza free of Palestinians will “never materialise”.
Netanyahu has accused Hamas of stealing aid in order to prepare for future attacks, allegations that the group has refuted.
The war in Gaza started after Hamas launched an attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage. The assault is considered the largest massacre of Jewish people since the Holocaust.
ADVERTISEMENTHamas says the attack was a show of defiance of the Palestinian people, describing it as retaliation against Israeli occupation and a turning point in the struggle for nationhood.
Commenting on the 7 October attack, which he referred to as an “operation”, al-Qanou said: “We are defending our Palestinian people’s rights, land and liberating its captives”.
In response to a question from Euronews about why Hamas paraded the bodies of four hostages before they were handed over to Israel last month, the group did not reply. The act was widely condemned, with the UN human rights chief Volker Turk saying that it contravened international law.
Israel’s war in Gaza has killed at least 48,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which makes no distinction between civilian and combatant casualties. The conflict has displaced around 90% of the Strip’s population, and damaged or destroyed at least 60% of buildings, according to the UN.
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