US officials huddle with Qataris at soccer match amid stuck talks; report says PM promised far-right coalition allies fighting will resume after proposed 60-day truce
US President Donald Trump expressed hope Sunday that gridlocked talks for a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza could see a breakthrough within a week, as sources claimed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was deliberately dragging out the negotiations.
While US and Israeli officials expressed optimism last week about the chances for an imminent agreement, negotiations have been stuck for the past four days over the scope of Israel’s military withdrawal from Gaza, an Arab diplomat and another source involved in mediation efforts told The Times of Israel.
Netanyahu has insisted the war cannot end until Hamas is no longer able to rule Gaza or pose a threat to Israel, vowing to achieve both that goal and the return of all 50 hostages still being held in the Strip.
“He is making public statements that a deal is possible and imminent in order to keep the pressure off of him, but it’s starting to feel like a stalling tactic,” the Arab diplomat said of Netanyahu.
The source involved in the mediation claimed Netanyahu was preventing a breakthrough from being reached before the Knesset recess, which runs from July 27 until October 19, as it is more difficult to dissolve parliament during that period. The far-right flank of his coalition is strongly opposed to ending the war with Hamas still in charge of Gaza and has threatened to withdraw over the issue, leaving Netanyahu vulnerable to losing power.
Netanyahu has denied thwarting a hostage deal, arguing that Hamas — not Israel — was the one that did not accept the US proposal for an agreement in the spring. The US has also maintained that Hamas has been the obstacle to a deal to date.
But the sources speaking to The Times of Israel said the updated Israeli proposal for a partial IDF withdrawal from Gaza that Netanyahu authorized last week does not allow for a breakthrough in the negotiations, as it still envisions Israel remaining in control of roughly one-third of the Strip and retaining a three-kilometer (1.8-mile) buffer zone in the area of Rafah in southern Gaza.
On Wednesday, Israel presented a scaled-down version of its withdrawal, but the proposal was rejected by Hamas, which told mediators that Netanyahu was using it to establish what he is calling a “humanitarian city” in the southern quarter of Gaza. Defense Minister Israel Katz has said Israel wants to eventually herd Gaza’s entire population there, vet them upon entry, and subsequently prevent them from leaving it, as Jerusalem encourages their emigration outside the enclave. The plan has drawn strong opposition both in Israel and internationally.
While continuing to reject the Israeli military redeployment proposal, Hamas has agreed to accept a one-kilometer (0.6-mile) buffer zone around much of the Strip’s perimeter. However, Israel is pushing for the buffer zone to extend two kilometers (1.2 miles) into Gaza, which the Arab mediators think is unreasonable, the two sources said.
US officials huddle with Qataris at soccer match
Trump was asked Sunday by reporters about the ongoing efforts for a Gaza truce and answered: “Hopefully we’re going to get that straightened out over the next week.”
Over the past several weeks, Trump has repeatedly given timelines that proved incorrect for when a deal would be reached.
Trump was making his way back from the FIFA Club World Cup soccer final in New Jersey, which he attended along with family, friends and close advisers, including his special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff.
The international sporting match also offered an opportunity for Trump and aides to huddle with government officials from the Gulf nation of Qatar, which is serving as an intermediary with Hamas in the talks.
Witkoff, in a brief exchange with reporters ahead of the match, said he remained “hopeful” about Gaza ceasefire and hostage negotiations, and confirmed he would be meeting during the match with senior Qatari officials.
M said promising coalition allies fighting will resume after truce
Meanwhile, Channel 12 news reported Sunday evening that Netanyahu had promised Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich in recent meetings that, following the proposed 60-day ceasefire with Hamas currently under discussion in Doha, Israel will resume its war against Hamas in Gaza.
“After the pause, we will transfer the population in the Strip southward and impose a siege [on northern Gaza],” Netanyahu reportedly told Smotrich, who is seeking guarantees from the premier that the war in Gaza will resume in full force after the ceasefire ends.
In closed-door meetings, Netanyahu framed Israel’s plan to separate the Gazan civilian population from Hamas and hold them in a strip of southern Gaza as a humanitarian necessity to allow the conflict to continue following the temporary truce, according to the report.
Netanyahu assured the far-right minister that he would follow through on the promise, pointing to the planning of last month’s conflict with Iran as the reason for failing to meet the latter’s prior expectations on destroying Hamas.
“Until now I’ve been busy with Iran — now I can make sure the military follows my instructions,” Channel 12 quoted the premier as telling Smotrich.
Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir have warned that they will withdraw from the government if any deal is agreed to that would end the war in Gaza. Both far-right ministers have reportedly been summoned to meet with Netanyahu in recent days, as part of the ongoing efforts to reach a deal.
Also Sunday, dozens of right-wing activists from the Tzav 9 group, which campaigns for halting humanitarian aid to Gaza in order to pressure Hamas to return the hostages, tried to block the passage of aid trucks from Jordan through the Allenby border crossing with the West Bank.
The group said it caused the crossing to be closed for more than three hours Sunday evening.
After the trucks passed, activists also tried to block the trucks near Arad, but were prevented by security forces.
The war between Israel and Hamas broke out on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led terrorists invaded Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 251. The 50 hostages who remain in Hamas captivity include the bodies of 28 confirmed dead by the IDF, one of whom has been held for over a decade.
AP contributed to this report.
