Citing the “delusional demands” of the Hamas and a lack of fresh proposals, Israel withdrew its delegation from the Gaza peace talks in Cairo Wednesday.
Israeli media outlets said the delegation, led by Mossad chief David Barnea, met CIA Director William Burns, Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani and senior Egyptian intelligence officials in Cairo on Tuesday. They discussed the possibility of a cease fire and the release of the remaining Israeli hostages captured during the October 7 attack by the Hamas, but failed to reach an agreement.
The Prime Minister’s Office:
Israel did not receive in Cairo any new proposal of Hamas on the release of our hostages.
PM Netanyahu insists that Israel will not give in to Hamas’s delusional demands.
A change in Hamas’s positions will allow the negotiations to advance.
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) February 14, 2024
The Israeli team, which included Shin Bet Director Ronan Bar and IDF Lt.-Gen. Nitzan Alon, was expected to meet a Palestinian delegation on Wednesday. However, “Israel did not receive in Cairo any new proposal of Hamas on the release of our hostages,” said a statement released by Netanyahu’s office. “A change in Hamas’ delusional positions will allow the negotiations to advance.”
Hamas has been insisting on a permanent ceasefire, pullout of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip, and the release of about 1,500 Palestinian prisoners, including several convicted killers and terror masterminds, in exchange for the remaining hostages taken on October 7.
A Hamas official told AFP that “a total ceasefire and a retreat of the Israeli occupation army from the Gaza Strip are a precondition for any serious negotiation” on a hostage-prisoner swap.
Following Israel’s pullout from the talks, a delegation from Hamas is likely to meet Egyptian and Qatari officials in Cairo on Thursday to discuss next steps.
Describing Netanyahu’s decision as a “death sentence” for their loved ones, families of the remaining hostages threatened to barricade the Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv until Netanyahu and his war cabinet agree to meet them. “While the negotiating team made a decision to be just passive listeners, female hostages are being actively raped and men are suffering abuse,” they said.
Earlier, a top UN official warned that an Israeli ground assault on Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city bordering Egypt, could result in a “slaughter,” with “catastrophic consequences”. Israel has said that it would allow civilians to leave the area after stringent checks before it launched a ground offensive on the small town which has turned into a massive refugee camp, with more than half the population of the Gaza Strip seeking shelter there to escape the relentless Israeli strikes elsewhere.
Noting that over a million people were “crammed in Rafah, staring death in the face,” UN Humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths underlined the dismal conditions in the city, with limited access to food, water and medicine.
Stressing that an Israeli invasion of Rafah would “further jeopardize an already precarious humanitarian operation,” he said The U.N. will not assist in the evacuation if Israel does go ahead with a ground offensive on the city.
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