Senior Hamas Official to Trump: We Are Ready to Make a Fair Deal
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
July 25: UN chief says Gaza hunger ‘a moral crisis,’ aid set to be scaled up in case of truce
COGAT assesses that the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip “continues to be difficult and challenging,” but there is no widespread famine, contrary to claims made by Hamas. COGAT says it continuously assesses the situation in Gaza, working to identify, alongside humanitarian aid groups, “pockets” where there are difficulties with access to food, to assist those areas. The IDF is now in control of 75% of the Strip’s territory, which means that Gaza’’S estimated 2 million population is squeezed into just 25% of it, especially concerning sanitation.
COGAT says it continuously assesses the situation in Gaza, working to identify, alongside humanitarian aid groups, “pockets” where there are difficulties with access to food, to assist those areas.
According to COGAT’s assessments, “there is no famine in the Gaza Strip,” however, it acknowledges that “there are issues of access to food.”
Images being circulated by Hamas and media outlets of malnourished children in Gaza are not indicative of a widespread phenomenon, COGAT claims: “There is no documented famine, contrary to the false claims Hamas spreads systematically.”
The humanitarian situation in Gaza has been on a downward trend recently, COGAT assesses, mainly because the IDF is now in control of 75% of the Strip’s territory. This means that Gaza’s estimated 2 million population is squeezed into just 25% of the Strip, which has led to several issues, especially concerning sanitation.
Additionally, actions taken by Israel to limit Hamas’s “takeover” of the humanitarian aid — such as the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid distribution sites — have harmed the terror group’s military wing, governance and its ties with the civilian population, according to COGAT’s assessments.
However, these “achievements” have led to extreme population density, chaos and the collapse of public order in Gaza, and as a result, “the humanitarian situation becomes far more complex,” COGAT has determined.
COGAT says that there is no shortage of water entering Gaza, and that food and other supplies should now be reaching Palestinians at an increased rate after the United Nations began transporting aid that had been mounting at the Kerem Shalom and Zikim crossings.
On Sunday, the UN did not collect any aid waiting at the Gaza crossings, leading Israel to publicly accuse it of allegedly refusing to cooperate. In the past two days, the UN resumed regular operations and collected 270 trucks’ worth of aid for distribution, according to COGAT figures.
The UN has repeatedly claimed that COGAT has refused its requests for collection and distribution authorization, and that dangerous and complex conditions inside Gaza made aid distribution very difficult. However, COGAT claims that nothing changed between Sunday and the rest of the week, and that when the UN wants to distribute aid, it can.
Currently, the contents of hundreds of aid trucks are still waiting on the Gaza side of the border crossings, with the main bottleneck being the collection and distribution, according to COGAT, which adds that the delays “have been the real cause of reduced aid availability and of food insecurity among the population.”
As talks stall, Hamas said acting to fend off possible military ops to rescue hostages
Hamas has reinstated a policy to kill hostages if captors believe that Israeli forces are approaching, sources say. US President Donald Trump said Friday that Hamas “didn’t really want” to reach a ceasefire and hostage release deal. Trump painted a far more bleak outlook and appeared to indicate that the US may not be able to secure the return of the remaining 50 hostages, 20 of whom are believed to still be alive. Hamas officials called on the US to be more even-handed in its role as mediator in the quest for a ceasefire after more than 21 months of fighting.“The American statements deliberately ignore the real obstructionist to all agreements — Netanyahu’s government, which continues to place obstacles, deceive, and evade commitments,” Hamas politburo member Izzat al-Rishq said.. Egypt and Qatar indicated that the Hamas response contained too many requests for changes to the proposal, but maintained that the gaps were bridgeable, an Arab diplomat and a source involved in the mediation effort said.
Hamas sources on the ground in Gaza told the Saudi outlet that the terror organization was taking additional precautionary measures to undermine potential efforts by Israeli special forces or others to rescue the hostages.
For example, Hamas has reinstated a policy to kill hostages if captors believe that Israeli forces are approaching. The policy had been canceled since the most recent ceasefire came into effect in March, the sources said.
The sources said Hamas was confident that such operations, if attempted, would not succeed.
Eight hostages have been rescued alive from captivity by troops. The bodies of 49 have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the Israeli military as they tried to escape their captors, and the body of a soldier who was killed in 2014.
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The rest of the nearly 200 hostages set free were released as part of the ceasefire deals.
Hamas officials expressed surprise on Saturday at US President Donald Trump’s accusation that it “didn’t really want” to reach a ceasefire and hostage release deal.
Trump made the allegation on Friday, a day after Israeli and American teams left indirect negotiations with Hamas in Qatar that had lasted nearly three weeks.
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“Trump’s remarks are particularly surprising, especially as they come at a time when progress had been made on some of the negotiation files,” Hamas’s Taher al-Nunu told AFP. “So far, we have not been informed of any issues regarding the files under discussion in the indirect ceasefire negotiations,” he added.
Nunu, who is close to Hamas’s most senior political officials, said he was “surprised” that Israel and the US had left the talks.
Announcing the recall of US mediators on Thursday, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff accused Hamas of not “acting in good faith.”
“We will now consider alternative options to bring the hostages home and try to create a more stable environment for the people of Gaza,” Witkoff said.
Though not part of the Hamas negotiating team, Hamas politburo member Izzat al-Rishq insisted the group had shown “flexibility” in the talks.
“The American statements deliberately ignore the real obstructionist to all agreements — Netanyahu’s government, which continues to place obstacles, deceive, and evade commitments,” he said.
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Both Hamas officials called on the US to be more even-handed in its role as mediator in the quest for a ceasefire after more than 21 months of fighting. “We call for an end to the US bias in favor of Netanyahu, who is obstructing any agreement,” Nunu said.
While Washington and Jerusalem fumed at Hamas over the response it submitted Thursday to the latest proposal for a 60-day Gaza truce and hostage release deal, Egypt and Qatar took a more nuanced approach. They indicated that the Hamas response indeed contained too many requests for changes to the proposal, but maintained that the gaps were bridgeable, an Arab diplomat and a source involved in the mediation effort told The Times of Israel on Friday.
Trump painted a far more bleak outlook and appeared to indicate that the US may not be able to secure the return of the remaining 50 hostages, 20 of whom are believed to still be alive.
“I said this was going to happen,” Trump told reporters, claiming to have predicted the current impasse.
“We got a lot of hostages out. But when you get down to the last 10 or 20, I don’t think Hamas is going to make a deal because that means they have no protection. And basically that’s what happened,” he said.
“I think what’s going to happen is they’re going to be hunted down,” Trump continued. “It [has] gotten to a point where [Israel is] going to have to finish the job.”
Israel is “going to have to fight, and going to have to clean it up. You’re gonna have to get rid of [Hamas],” he said, acknowledging that the situation is “sort of disappointing.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office issued a statement on Friday saying Jerusalem and Washington were “considering alternative options to bring our hostages home.”
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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told former hostages and hostage families on Friday in Washington that the Trump administration needs to “rethink” its strategy regarding solving the war in Gaza, after being unable to end the conflict since coming into office in January, Channel 12 news reported, citing two unnamed sources who took part in the meeting.
Rubio said it was necessary to “come to the president with new options” on strategy regarding the war, the report quoted him as saying, without detailing what those options may be.
The IDF has been fighting the terror group for nearly 22 months, and Israeli officials had asserted that Trump’s entry to the Oval Office would allow for the IDF to deliver a knockout blow.
Trump allowed Israel to exit the previous hostage deal in March, rather than entering a second potential phase that would have included a permanent end to the war.
Israel then launched and is now nearing the conclusion of a new offensive aimed at occupying 75 percent of the Strip in order to pressure Hamas.
For nearly three months, Israel blocked all aid from entering the Strip, in what aid organizations say helped create the current hunger crisis.
The US then helped Israel establish the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which was designed to try and box Hamas out of the aid distribution process when Israel finally began to allow aid again into Gaza in late May. But GHF’s work was quickly marred by near-daily reports of deadly shootings of Palestinians seeking to pick up boxes of food.
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The organization still touts its delivery of roughly 90 million meals, but the boxes of aid it distributes are dry food products that need to be prepared elsewhere in the Strip, where clean water, cooking gas and kitchen equipment are increasingly scarce.
Moreover, GHF doesn’t track who is picking up its aid, so there is no way to confirm that Hamas operatives aren’t benefiting from it as well.
On top of the guardrails that Trump removed regarding Israel’s military campaign, the US also adopted Netanyahu’s approach for a phased hostage deal in the latest negotiations.
Hamas has offered to release all of the hostages in one batch in exchange for Israel agreeing to permanently end the war, but Netanyahu has refused, arguing that doing so would leave Hamas in power.
Instead, the sides have been engaged in months of painstaking negotiations during which Hamas has agreed to release roughly half of the hostages in exchange for a temporary 60-day ceasefire, but in return has demanded a long list of conditions that aim to prevent Israel from resuming fighting even after the truce expires.
Reaction to Trump announcement of 30% tariffs on EU, Mexico
Goods imported from both the European Union and Mexico will face a 30% U.S. tariff rate starting on August 1. The European Union “remains firm, united and ready to protect (its) interests” The EU will take all necessary steps to safeguard EU interests, including the adoption of proportionate countermeasures if required. The costs for our companies are already in the billions – and the sum is growing every day. Suppliers are also significantly affected – also in light of the additional 30 per cent tariffs on Mexico that have now been announced. The EU and the U.s. must continue to find a solution as quickly as possible to avert the impending consequences on both sides of the Atlantic. The US President is announcing yet another round of tariffs on the EU and Mexico. How does increasing prices across the board like this help people in our country? Answer: it doesn’t. It’s a $2000 + annual Trump tariff tax on every family.” The EU has consistently prioritized a negotiated solution with the US, reflecting our commitment to dialogue, stability, and a constructive transatlantic partnership.
Item 1 of 2 The United States flag flies in front of the French luxury fashion house Louis Vuitton store on 5th Avenue in New York City, U.S., May 23, 2025. REUTERS/Adam Gray/File Photo
July 12 (Reuters) – Goods imported from both the European Union and Mexico will face a 30% U.S. tariff rate starting on August 1, U.S. President Donald Trump said in letters posted to his social media platform on Saturday.
Following are reactions to the announcement:
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EUROPEAN COUNCIL PRESIDENT ANTONIO COSTA
The European Union “remains firm, united and ready to protect (its) interests”.
“Tariffs are taxes. They fuel inflation, create uncertainty and hinder economic growth. We will continue to build strong trade partnerships worldwide.”
SPANISH PRIME MINISTER PEDRO SANCHEZ
“Economic openness and trade create prosperity. Unjustified tariffs destroy it. That is why we support and will support the Commission in its negotiations to reach an agreement with the U.S. before August 1.”
US SENATOR AMY KLOBUCHAR FROM MINNESOTA, A DEMOCRAT:
“The President is announcing yet another round of tariffs on the EU and Mexico. How does increasing prices across the board like this help people in our country? Answer: it doesn’t. It’s a $2000 + annual Trump tariff tax on every family.”
URSULA VON DER LEYEN, PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION
“The EU has consistently prioritized a negotiated solution with the U.S., reflecting our commitment to dialogue, stability, and a constructive transatlantic partnership.
“We remain ready to continue working towards an agreement by August 1. At the same time, we will take all necessary steps to safeguard EU interests, including the adoption of proportionate countermeasures if required.”
HILDEGARD MUELLER, PRESIDENT OF GERMAN AUTO INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION VDA
“It is regrettable that there is a threat of further escalation of the trade conflict and that a solution has still not been found for the tariffs of 27.5% on car imports to the USA, which remain in force. The costs for our companies are already in the billions – and the sum is growing every day. Suppliers are also significantly affected – also in light of the additional 30 per cent tariffs on goods from Mexico that have now been announced.
“The EU and the U.S. must continue to find a solution as quickly as possible to avert the impending consequences on both sides of the Atlantic.”
ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER GIORGIA MELONI’S OFFICE
“We trust in the goodwill of all players in the field in order to reach a fair agreement that can strengthen the West as a whole, given that – particularly in the current scenario – it would make no sense to trigger a trade clash between the two sides of the Atlantic.
“It is now crucial to remain focused on the negotiations, avoiding polarisations that would make reaching an agreement more complex.”
DUTCH PRIME MINISTER DICK SCHOOF
“The US announcement of 30% tariffs on goods imported from the European Union is concerning and not the way forward. The European Commission can count on our full support. As the EU we must remain united and resolute in pursuing an outcome with the United States that is mutually beneficial.”
IRISH FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE MINISTER SIMON HARRIS
“There is no necessity to escalate the situation or to further increase the additional tariffs which have been imposed on the EU.
“The EU will remain united and focused as negotiations continue between now and 1 August.”
WOLFGANG NIEDERMARK, SENIOR OFFICIAL, GERMAN INDUSTRIAL LOBBY BDI
“President Trump’s announcement is an alarm signal for industry on both sides of the Atlantic. A trade conflict between two economic areas as closely intertwined as the EU and the U.S. is damaging to economic recovery, innovative strength and ultimately trust in international cooperation.
“Tariffs as a means of exerting political pressure lead to higher costs, jeopardize jobs and undermine international competitiveness, both in Europe and in the U.S.”
DAN O’BRIEN, CHIEF ECONOMIST, INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AND EUROPEAN AFFAIRS, IN POST ON X
“A 30% tariff on EU goods going to US would have a significant trade destruction effect. The threat to meet any EU tariff retaliation with a further and equal percentage point increase in the US tariff highly provocative. Chances of wider EU-US economic conflict have risen.”
CYRUS DE LA RUBIA, CHIEF ECONOMIST, HAMBURG COMMERCIAL BANK
“The EU should take a hard line in negotiations, because model calculations show that tariffs against the EU have a stronger negative effect in the US than in the eurozone.
“Trump is overlooking the fact that the economic impact in the form of higher inflation, higher interest rates, and slower growth will probably only be felt after a certain delay. The One Big Beautiful Bill is not powerful enough to offset the negative effects of tariffs.”
JOSE CARLOS DIEZ, UNIVERSITY OF ALCALA ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
“30% will have a very intense impact on a good part of European exports, especially of industrial goods with little technological content.
“Before Trump came to The White House the average non-agricultural tariff was 1.5%. Now he wants to multiply it by 20 times. There has been no precedent since 1945.”
Compiled by EMEA Editing Desk
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EXCLUSIVE: Internal Documents Detail Hamas Proposals That Preceded Trump’s Belligerent Rant
Hamas leader Khalil Al-Hayya accuses U.S. and Israel of plotting to sabotage ceasefire agreement. Al- Hayya: “There is no point in continuing negotiations under the siege, genocide, and starvation of our children, women, and people in the Gaza Strip” Hamas officials said they were bewildered at the public response from the Trump administration. “I think they want to die, and it’s very, very bad,” President Donald Trump said of Hamas on the White House lawn on Friday. “Now we’re down to the final hostages and they know basically because of that they’ve really didn’t make a deal,’’ he said. “You’’re gonna have to clean it up and get rid of ‘em.’ They’ll be hunted down,” said Special Envoy Steve Witkoff of the U.N.’s Quartet for Middle East Peace. “We will not accept that our people, their suffering, and the blood of its children be sacrificed for the occupation’s negotiating tricks and the achievement of its political goals”
Hamas’s top political leader Khalil Al-Hayya delivered a blistering speech Sunday night, accusing the U.S. and Israel of plotting to sabotage yet another potential ceasefire agreement to end the Gaza war. “We state clearly: There is no point in continuing negotiations under the siege, genocide, and starvation of our children, women, and people in the Gaza Strip,” Al-Hayya said. “We will not accept that our people, their suffering, and the blood of its children be sacrificed for the occupation’s negotiating tricks and the achievement of its political goals.”
Al-Hayya, who has led Hamas’s negotiating team since Israel’s assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Hanniyeh last summer in Tehran, accused Israel and the U.S. of “blackmail,” and charged that Israel was using “negotiations as a cover and tool for starvation.” He added, “The immediate and dignified entry of food and medicine to our people is a serious and genuine expression of the viability of continuing negotiations.”
This round of negotiations has taken place as Israel has relentlessly bombed Gaza and forced masses of Palestinians into small patches of land against the sea abutting the western coast of the enclave. It has also forbidden Palestinians from entering their own water under threat of being killed.
Israel’s forced starvation campaign has reached lethal levels. While Israel and the U.S. have concocted new schemes to pretend significant aid is entering Gaza, or to blame the UN for Israel’s deliberate denial of food and medicine to the Strip, the reality is that short of an industrial scale aid distribution run by the UN, many more Palestinians are at imminent risk of death by famine. “The real step is opening the crossings and allowing the entry of aid in a dignified manner for our people—something that is guaranteed by international law, even in times of war,” Al-Hayya said.
Al-Hayya’s speech marked the end of a week that saw both the U.S. and Israel announce they were withdrawing their negotiators from Doha, Qatar, and which featured President Donald Trump unleashing a threat-laden rant that appeared to encourage Israel to further intensify its war in the Gaza Strip.
Last Wednesday, after consulting with a range of Palestinian political leaders and groups as well as regional mediators from Qatar and Egypt, negotiators from Hamas submitted a handful of precisely-crafted amendments to the latest Gaza ceasefire framework. Hamas had already agreed to the vast majority of the thirteen-point framework and had been informed by mediators that Israel had done the same.
Drop Site News obtained a series of documents from the negotiations in Doha showing the terms Hamas proposed to amend, as well as the maps for Israeli troop redeployments presented to Hamas by regional mediators alongside the maps counter-proposed by Hamas.
“We were faced with two options: either agree to a weak, rushed agreement—where Israel could control the aid, impose wide buffer zones covering 40–50% of Gaza, ensure the possibility of resuming war, and add many other unjust conditions—or hold out for a good agreement,” said Ghazi Hamad, a senior Hamas leader and a member of its negotiating team, in a TV interview Saturday with Al Araby. “We chose to be patient and stand firm so we could reach a good deal.”
Hamas officials said they were bewildered at the public response from the Trump administration. On Friday, Trump launched into a belligerent tirade on the White House lawn as he prepared to embark on a trip to Europe. “Hamas didn’t really want to make a deal. I think they want to die, and it’s very, very bad. It got to be to a point where you’re going to have to finish the job,” Trump declared. “Now we’re down to the final hostages and they know what happens after you get the final hostages and basically because of that they really didn’t want to make a deal. I saw that. They’re gonna have to fight, and they’re gonna have to clean it up. You’re gonna have to get rid of ‘em.” Addressing Hamas’s leadership, Trump said, “I think they will be hunted down.”
Hamas officials said they were surprised by Trump’s comments and those of Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. “What Hamas presented—both in word and deed—represented a positive, realistic, and flexible position. We offered a vision for all the issues on the table, whether related to maps, prisoner exchange mechanisms, aid, or guarantees for continuing negotiations beyond the 60-day period,” said Hamad. “That’s why the American position was surprising; it was tense and rigid, offering no explanations. Instead, it relied on the language of threats and intimidation.”
Basem Naim, another senior Hamas official, told Drop Site, “Trump is playing a strategic game of deception,” adding that the U.S. and Israel were seeking to increase pressure on Hamas to capitulate. He said Trump’s comments, and similar ones made by Witkoff, were intended to apply “more pressure before the next round” of negotiations and to buy time for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “to reorganize the internal situation.”
Some analysts have suggested that if Netanyahu had signed a deal prior to the recession of the Israeli Knesset on July 27, he would have contended with the possible collapse of his governing coalition, so Netanyahu has, instead, delayed signing the deal. The Knesset is not scheduled to reconvene until October.
Over the past three weeks, Israeli and Palestinian negotiators had been wrangling over three primary issues in the proximity talks with regional mediators: how much aid would enter Gaza and who would distribute it; where Israeli forces would withdraw to during the ceasefire, and the size of a mutually-agreed buffer zone encircling Gaza; and how many Palestinian captives would be freed in exchange for 10 living and 18 deceased Israelis held in Gaza.
“Negotiations, in my view, were no less important, serious, or dangerous than the battlefield itself,” said Hamad. “What the occupation failed to achieve through military force, killing, criminality, and starvation, it tried to impose through negotiations—trying to force realities and facts on Hamas that we could never accept.”
Prior to formally submitting its amendments for response from the U.S. and Israel, Hamas negotiators spent days going through their proposals with Qatari and Egyptian mediators. “We achieved clear progress and reached broad agreement with what the mediators presented, especially regarding withdrawal, prisoners, and the entry of aid,” said Al-Hayya. “The mediators conveyed positive responses from the Zionist occupation. However, we were surprised when the occupation withdrew from the negotiations” in response to Hamas’s amendments.
The Gaza ceasefire negotiations are once again at a crucial crossroads. After pulling out their negotiators, Netanyahu, Trump, Witkoff, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio all said they would pursue “alternative options” to recover Israeli captives—outside a negotiated deal. On Friday, Netanyahu convened with cabinet members and top security officials to discuss “occupying additional territories,” a “siege on Gaza City” and US-assisted “pressure” on Hamas leaders abroad. Some Israeli journalists have suggested this could come in the form of more assassinations of Hamas political leaders abroad or demands they be expelled from Qatar or other nations.
There is a real possibility that Israel intends to dramatically escalate its military assault on Gaza, backed by the threats issued by Trump. “Israel is gonna have to make a decision. I know what I’d do but I don’t think it’s appropriate that I say it,” Trump said Sunday without expanding.
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham predicted that Israel would dispense with negotiations and ratchet up its military assault on Gaza. “There’s no way you’re going to negotiate an end of this war with Hamas,” he said. Israel is “going to do in Gaza what we did in Tokyo and Berlin—take the place by force, then start over again, presenting a better future for the Palestinians.”
It is also plausible that these threats are, as Hamas officials have suggested, an attempt to back Hamas into a corner by using the starving and besieged population of Gaza as collateral. On July 25, Egypt and Qatar issued a joint statement saying that the “suspension of the negotiations to hold consultations before resuming the dialogue again is a natural matter in the context of these complex negotiations.” They added that, along with the U.S., Qatar and Egypt “affirm their commitment to completing efforts to reach a comprehensive ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip.”
In an interview with Trump’s daughter in law, Lara Trump, on FOX News on Saturday, Witkoff appeared to express optimism that a Gaza agreement remained possible. A deal with “Hamas, which has lingered just a drop, is now coming together,” he said.
“I believe no one wants the talks to collapse, because I think everyone understands that reaching an agreement at this stage is critical — there is no alternative but to reach a deal to end this horrific war,” said Hamad, the member of the Hamas negotiating team. “There is significant effort being made by all parties, but ultimately this depends on Israel — either it decides to come to the table seriously and reach an agreement, or it chooses to stall and buy time, dragging out the process without any real intention to conclude.”
Below is an overview of the last round of amendments proposed by Hamas.
Hamas’s Proposal for Humanitarian Aid to Gaza
Hamas wants the United Nations to be in charge of the distribution of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, while the Israeli-endorsed framework only states that the UN will participate in distribution. Prior to March 2, aid was distributed through 400 non-militarized points throughout Gaza in a system overseen by the UN.
In an amendment, Hamas proposed the complete abolishment of the U.S.-Israeli aid scheme known as the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed attempting to collect meager rations at its sites in Gaza. “The centers established by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip, which were used by the GHF, will be dismantled,” Hamas negotiators wrote. “Aid will be distributed in the Gaza Strip through the United Nations, its agencies, and the Palestinian Red Crescent, in addition to institutions operating in the Gaza Strip prior to March 2, 2025.” The GHF began its operations in late May.
Hamas also reiterated its position, which Israel continues to oppose, that the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt be re-opened “in both directions for travelers and trade.”
Rafah is the only access Palestinians in Gaza have to a world beyond Israeli control. Israel invaded and occupied Rafah in May 2024 and shut the Rafah crossing down. It was briefly reopened in a limited capacity for some wounded and sick people to leave Gaza during the January ceasefire, but was again closed after Israel resumed its genocidal assault on Gaza on March 18.
Hamas’s proposal on Israeli Withdrawal
During the recent negotiations, Hamas and Israeli negotiators agreed that Israeli forces would reposition or withdraw to positions on the periphery of Gaza. Both sides’ proposals referenced the maps negotiated in the original January 19 ceasefire agreement, but the latest Israeli-endorsed framework, dated June 30, employed vague language and said its troop positions would be “close” to the original agreement and added that the positions of its troops would be “based on [new] maps to be agreed upon.”
In its counter-proposal, submitted on July 4, Hamas said it wanted Israeli forces to be repositioned to where they “were deployed according to the maps of the January 19, 2025 agreement, with minor adjustments to be agreed upon.”
On July 6, indirect negotiations began in Doha between Israel and Hamas with Qatar and Egypt serving as mediators and a U.S. delegation in Qatar to consult with Israel and the mediators.
Hamas officials say they repeatedly asked for Israel and the mediators to propose specific maps outlining where Israeli forces would reposition during the ceasefire. Throughout the next two weeks, Israeli officials publicly outlined their intent to build a concentration camp in southern Gaza and to occupy huge swaths of the strip. Israel’s defense minister said an initial 600,000 Palestinians would be corralled into what he cynically called a “humanitarian city” built on the rubble of Rafah where they would await deportation or “voluntary migration.”
Hamas made clear it would not accept this and the Trump administration swiftly pressed Israel to scale back its proposed occupation zones.
A Hamas official told Drop Site that on July 14, Israel proposed the creation of an Israeli-controlled buffer zone encircling Gaza that would extend two kilometers (1.25 miles) into Gaza in the north and east of the enclave, as well as a four kilometer (2.5 mile) zone cutting through southern Gaza. The proposal, if enacted, would still have resulted in Israel occupying some 40% of Gaza. Netanyahu has insisted that Israeli forces would not pull out from the Philadelphi corridor along the Egyptian border
On July 17, after consultations between Israel, the U.S. and Arab mediators, Hamas was provided with another round of revised maps outlining positions that Israeli forces would withdraw to as part of a 60-day ceasefire agreement. The positions were still deeper into Gaza than the original January maps, but it was a step in the right direction from Hamas’s perspective. “We fought fiercely, firmly, and steadfastly to stop Israel’s encroachment and its attempt to impose wide buffer zones in Gaza,” said Hamad in his Al Araby interview. “Thanks to God, we were able to push them back and put forward an acceptable and sound vision that can be worked with in this agreement.”
In its amendment, Hamas proposed minor adjustments—in most cases 100 to 200 meters less than Israel proposed. Hamas also laid out a plan for the total withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Philadelphi corridor. During an initial 60-day truce, Hamas proposed, “The occupation will gradually withdraw at a rate of 50 meters per week from the Philadelphi corridor, and on the 50th day, it will withdraw from the entire Philadelphi corridor.”
Hamad said the mediators from Qatar and Egypt told Hamas that its proposed maps were a reasonable position. “We were able to present a vision that was accepted by the mediators—a vision that, God willing, will be the one moving forward,” he said. “The areas and distances presented in the redeployment maps so far are good and reasonable. They could be the foundation for a fair and just agreement for our Palestinian people.”
On the left, maps for Israeli troop repositioning and a Gaza buffer zone presented by mediators to Hamas as Israeli-approved. On the right, Hamas’s amended maps. The green dots are the four sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which Hamas wants abolished. Drop Site obtained these maps and other documents from the latest round of negotiations.
Hamas’s Proposal for Freeing Palestinians Held Captive by Israel
Both Israel and Hamas have agreed that ten living and 18 deceased Israeli captives will be released during the initial two-month ceasefire. Eight living Israelis would be freed on the first day of a deal and the remaining two on Day 50. The bodies of the deceased would be released in stages spanning the agreement. There are believed to be a total of 20 living Israelis held captive in Gaza, along with the bodies of 36 deceased.
In the framework presented to Hamas, the number of Palestinians who would be freed in exchange for the Israelis was never spelled out. “Israel will release an agreed-upon number of Palestinian prisoners,” the document stated.
As Hamas viewed the ceasefire process nearing an agreement, it wanted to resolve the issue. There are more than 10,000 Palestinians currently held in Israeli prisons and detention centers, and they are often subjected to torture and extrajudicial killing. There are also more than 2,000 Palestinians from Gaza who were snatched by Israel for the explicit purpose of exchanging them. Regional mediators told Hamas that Israel would release a total of 125 Palestinians serving life sentences and 1,111 Palestinians “who were detained from the Gaza Strip since October 8.” This would presumably mean that Palestinians taken captive by Israel on October 7 would not be part of the deal.
“We are determined to secure the release of the largest possible number of prisoners, especially those from Gaza, and particularly those involved in the events of October 7: those who fought, struggled, and sacrificed their lives,” said Hamad in his Al Araby interview. “This matter was brought to the negotiation table, and we proposed reasonable and meaningful numbers. And, God willing, we hope to succeed in securing the release of the largest number possible, whether they are serving life sentences, other terms, or still awaiting sentencing in this phase.”
In its amendment, Hamas proposed that in exchange for the ten living Israeli captives 200 Palestinians serving life sentences and 2,000 Palestinians snatched from Gaza be freed. Hamas wanted to designate which Palestinians would be freed in the deal. In exchange for the 18 deceased Israelis held in Gaza, Hamas proposed: “In exchange for each body, 10 Palestinian bodies, in addition to 50 prisoners from Gaza after October 7, as well as women and children under the age of 18, to be designated by Hamas.”
Herman Gill contributed to this report.
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Ending US trip without hostage-ceasefire deal, Netanyahu hopes it can be done in days
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expresses optimism that an agreement with Hamas could be sealed in the near future. indirect talks continued in Qatar amid signs of deadlock. Netanyahu promised earlier Thursday that Israel would return to war if Hamas does not give in. Hamas said it opposes any ceasefire deal that includes a large Israeli military presence in Gaza, describing disagreements over the free flow of aid into Gaza as sticking points. The issue of whether Israel will be able to restart its military campaign after the proposed 60-day ceasefire and the release of 10 dead hostages is one of the main sticking points in talks, which have failed to produce a breakthrough even as leaders continue to express some optimism that one can be reached. The sides agreed to ceasefires in November 2023 and January 2025 after Hamas invaded Israel on October 7, 2023, and Jerusalem declared war on the terrorist organization, the sides agreed on a third ceasefire in November 2024, the Times of Israel reported. The Trump administration has assured mediators that it does not intend to allow Jerusalem to go back to fighting against Hamas in Gaza following a potential ceasefire, sources said.
“I hope we can complete it in a few days,” he told Newsmax’s Greta Van Susteren in an interview before flying back to Israel, while indirect talks continued in Qatar amid signs of deadlock.
“We’ll probably have a 60-day ceasefire. Get the first batch out and then use the 60 days to try to negotiate an end to this,” he said on the last day of a four-day visit in which he met US President Donald Trump twice. “And this could end tomorrow, today, if Hamas lays down its arms.”
“We think we can bring it to completion,” said Netanyahu. “So I wouldn’t tell you that we have a war goal that is unachievable. We’re going to defeat these monsters and get our hostages back.”
Netanyahu granted three interviews to US media during his trip, but no interviews to the Israeli press.
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Amid reports that the Trump administration does not intend to allow Israel to resume fighting in Gaza after a potential ceasefire, Netanyahu promised earlier Thursday that Israel would return to war if Hamas does not give in.
“We were told, ‘You will not return to war,’ after the first ceasefire, and we did return,” said Netanyahu in a video statement. “We were told ‘You will not resume your fight,’ after the second ceasefire, and we did.”
“Now they’re saying ‘You will not continue fighting’ after the third ceasefire. Do I need to say more?”
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After Hamas invaded Israel on October 7, 2023, and Jerusalem declared war on the terrorist organization, the sides agreed to ceasefires in November 2023 and January 2025.
Two sources told The Times of Israel on Wednesday that the Trump administration has assured mediators that it does not intend to allow Jerusalem to go back to fighting against Hamas in Gaza following a 60-day ceasefire, even if this is not explicitly included in the text of the deal being hashed out in Washington and Qatar.
The issue of whether Israel will be able to restart its military campaign after the proposed 60-day ceasefire and the release of 10 living and 18 dead hostages is one of the main sticking points in talks, which have failed to produce a breakthrough even as leaders continue to express some optimism that one can be reached.
However, indications that talks were bogged down continued to emerge on Thursday. Hamas said it opposes any ceasefire deal that includes a large Israeli military presence in Gaza, describing disagreements over the withdrawal and free flow of aid into Gaza as sticking points, as well as its demands for “real guarantees” for a lasting truce.
“We cannot accept the perpetuation of the occupation of our land and the surrender of our people to isolated enclaves under the control of the occupation army,” senior Hamas official Bassem Naim told AFP. “This is what the negotiating delegation is presenting to the occupation so far in the current round of negotiations in Doha.”
Hamas is particularly opposed to Israeli control over the southern city of Rafah, on the border with Egypt, and the so-called Morag Corridor between Rafah and Khan Younis, he added.
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In his Thursday video, Netanyahu said that Israel is willing to discuss the end of the war in Gaza during the 60-day ceasefire, should Hamas and Israel come to an agreement.
But, he cautioned, the war will end only under Israel’s conditions: “Hamas lays down its weapons, Gaza is demilitarized, Hamas no longer has any governmental or military capabilities. These are our basic conditions.”
Netanyahu has made those demands throughout the war, which Hamas has repeatedly rejected.
On way or another, said Netanyahu, Israel’s war aims will be achieved.
“If this can be achieved through negotiations — that’s great. If it is not achieved through negotiations in 60 days, we will achieve it in other ways; by using force, the force of our heroic army,” he said, after speaking at a memorial service for two embassy employees who were murdered in May.
In the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump told reporters, “We’re getting very close to a deal on Gaza.” That came after Netanyahu stated there was a “good chance” to reach a deal and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said he thought an agreement to end 21 months of bitter fighting was “achievable.”
Netanyahu also said in his Thursday statement that he is aware Israelis are asking why the war against Hamas is taking so long, defending his approach to combating the terror group.
“First of all, this is a war zone that no army in the world has faced,” he said. “And thanks to the heroism of the fighters, thanks to the sacrifice of the fallen, thanks to the creativity, we dismantled most of Hamas’s military capabilities. But not all of them. There are still thousands of fighters there with weapons. And we want to act, again, with a combination of diplomacy and military force, and military force if diplomacy doesn’t work, to complete the mission.”
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Regarding the order in which hostages will be released, Netanyahu said he would prefer to get everyone out at once, but “we are dealing with a cruel terrorist organization. Of course, we would like to rescue everyone, and from our point of view, they are all humanitarian. I want to rescue everyone in one fell swoop.”
“Here we are dealing with two stages, but the choice is not always ours. We will do everything to maximize this release in the best possible way. Not everything is in our hands.”
Netanyahu told hostage families on Wednesday that Hamas will determine which hostages will be released during the 60-day truce, a source present at the Washington meeting told The Times of Israel.
The source said Netanyahu told the families that as far as Israel is concerned, all of the hostages are considered “humanitarian” — meaning that no group of living captives will be prioritized over the other, given that their conditions are all acutely dire after 643 days in Gaza.
However, two sources told the Haaretz daily that intelligence on the conditions of the hostages is being given to Netanyahu’s office, and that the political leadership will decide on the order of release.
‘A beautiful couple’
Earlier Thursday, Netanyahu addressed a memorial service for slain embassy employees Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim at the Israeli mission in Washington.
“The agony of losing a brother is great,” Netanyahu said. “The agony of losing a son is greater.”
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He recognized Ambassador Yechiel Leiter, who lost his son in war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu said he learned from losing his brother Yoni that “life is a raging river” and that it will carry you to new places if you allow it.
Netanyahu told the relatives of Lischinsky and Milgrim — who were about to get engaged when a gunman shot them dead outside the Capital Jewish Museum in May — that he spoke about the victims with Trump. According to the prime minister, Trump remarked after seeing their photo, “What a beautiful couple.”
With Milgrim’s parents and Lischinsky’s siblings present, Netanyahu signed a memorial book and spoke with the relatives.
Lischinsky’s parents watched the proceedings on Zoom.
Netanyahu unveiled a memorial plaque with a photograph of the two victims, then affixed a new mezuzah.
Having a Jewish state “comes with a heavy cost,” said Netanyahu in his address.
He stressed that Israel will fight antisemitism, which he said is growing amid an organized campaign.
“When we began the great return to our land,” the first thing Israel did was create an army, he said. “God helps those who help themselves.”
Israel has become one of the great powers on earth, he asserted: “We do not bow down. We do not surrender. We win.”
Jacob Magid and AFP contributed to this report.