Steve Witkoff, the Trump administration’s special envoy to the Middle East, who is visiting the region, met families of Israeli hostages on Saturday and told them President Donald Trump now wanted to see all the living hostages released at once.
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“No piecemeal deals, that doesn’t work,” he said, according to an audio recording of part of the meeting published by the Ynet Hebrew news site.
“Now we think that we have to shift this negotiation to ‘all or nothing’ – everybody comes home,” he said. “We have a plan around it,” he added, without elaborating. A participant in the meeting confirmed that Witkoff made such remarks.
Israel and Hamas do not negotiate directly. Instead, negotiations for a ceasefire between the two sides have run through intermediaries: the United States, Qatar and Egypt.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump are said to be working on a new proposal that would involve presenting Hamas with an ultimatum, according to reports in the Israeli news media that were confirmed on Sunday by a person familiar with the matter. The White House was not immediately available for comment.
Under the terms of the ultimatum, Hamas would have to release the remaining hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and agree to terms to end the war that include the group’s disarmament. Otherwise, the Israeli military would continue its campaign.
‘This has been our demand from the beginning’
Mahmoud Mardawi, a Hamas official, said the Palestinian armed group had yet to receive a formal Israeli proposal for a comprehensive deal from Arab mediators. He said that while Hamas supported such an agreement in principle, it would not disarm, which has long been a core Israeli condition.
“This has been our demand from the beginning: an end to the war, the release of prisoners, and day-after arrangements in the Gaza Strip – a clear and comprehensive deal,” Mardawi said in a phone interview.
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The prospects of any rapid advancement towards such a deal appear dim.
Hamas has consistently rejected Israel’s terms for ending the war throughout the negotiations. On Saturday, the group said in a statement that it would not disarm unless a Palestinian state was established, despite a call from Arab states last week for the group to do so.
The Israeli government opposes Palestinian statehood.
On Sunday, Itamar Ben-Gvir, the Israeli national security minister, visited the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, which Jews revere as the Temple Mount, long a tinderbox for Israeli-Palestinian tensions. Arab leaders denounced Ben-Gvir’s ascent to the site – during which he openly prayed – as a provocation.
“It’s important to convey from this place that we should immediately conquer Gaza, exercise our sovereignty there, and eliminate every last Hamas member,” Ben-Gvir said from the site, in a video shared by his office.
Many Israelis say they support a comprehensive deal to return all the hostages and end the war. But many are sceptical that such a deal can be achieved under the conditions set by the hardline Israeli government, which has vowed to continue fighting until Hamas surrenders or is destroyed.
On Sunday night, Netanyahu argued that Hamas did not want a deal and vowed to press on in the attempt “to release our captive sons, eliminate Hamas and ensure that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel”.
‘Give us victory’
Given the firm positions of both sides, an Israeli and American push for a comprehensive deal may not bring an agreement closer, according to analysts.
“Hamas is essentially saying to Israel: ‘If you want the 20 living hostages out, give us a full victory’,” said Ehud Yaari, an Israel-based fellow of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, an independent research group.
Hamas has signalled little intent to compromise in negotiations to end the fighting.Credit: AP
Hamas’ terms are far beyond what Netanyahu would accept, Yaari said. But, he added, the prime minister “has to keep convincing the Israeli public and his own voters that he is doing everything he can, and he has to reassure the families of the hostages”.
Mardawi said Hamas saw little reason to negotiate with Israel, given the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.
“What is the point of talks when people are dying of starvation?” he said.
