Hostage families block Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway; CIA chief blames Hamas for deadlock
Burns says Hamas ‘standing in way of’ Gazans getting aid they need; official says IDF strike that killed Haniyeh’s sons, grandchildren led terror group to harden truce deal demands
Dozens of relatives of the Gaza hostages along with their supporters blocked off the main highway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv on Friday, protesting government inaction in returning the abductees.
The demonstrators burned barrels set up in the middle of the highway and held up signs with pictures of their loved ones, calling on Israel to do more to reach an elusive deal.
Police and firefighters then moved in to disperse the demonstrators and douse the flames.
While the demonstrators placed the onus on the Israeli government, CIA chief Bill Burns in a rare public comment placed the blame on Hamas for the deadlocked negotiations, saying the terror group had rejected the latest proposal.
“It was a deep disappointment to get a negative reaction from Hamas,” Burns said at an event at the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas.
“Right now, it’s that negative reaction that really is standing in the way of innocent civilians in Gaza getting humanitarian relief that they so desperately need,” he said.
Burns said he could not guarantee that the talks will succeed.
“And it breaks your heart because you can see in very human terms what’s at stake here as well,” he said.
מפגינים ובני משפחות חטופים חוסמים כעת את כביש 1 ומבעירים אש בחביות. ״מבעירים את מחדלי הממשלה על רעותיה: הפקרה, הזנחה, שחיתות, זלזול בחיי אדם, מרמה, אינטרסים פוליטיים, אדישות״ מסרו pic.twitter.com/0b0TDEMOSg
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The recent proposal was widely reported to offer a temporary ceasefire of at least several weeks in return for the release of dozens of hostages. Israel would also set free hundreds of Palestinian security prisoners held in its jails alongside enabling a boost in aid to Gaza, where a humanitarian crisis has ballooned amid the fighting.
However, the aftermath of an Israeli strike last week killing three of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh’s children and four of his grandchildren was said to have contributed to the ongoing deadlock in negotiations, a senior Arab official told The Times of Israel.
The strike came at a critical point in the negotiations before Hamas was slated to provide its response to the latest proposal, the senior Arab official said, noting that the terror group went on to subsequently harden its demands.
Talks also faced a further setback this week as Qatar said it was seeking to reassess its role as a mediator between the two sides amid harsh criticism.
Qatar, with the United States and Egypt, has been engaged in weeks of behind-the-scenes talks to secure a truce in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages — kidnapped by Hamas during its October 7 massacre — in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
In addition to Hamas spurning the latest deal, criticism of Qatar’s handling of the negotiations made by a number of Democratic and Republican US lawmakers contributed to their re-evaluation of its role entirely, according to the same Arab official.
While clarifying that the majority of Qatar’s frustration was directed at the Israeli government, which has led to much of the criticism against Doha, Qatari officials noted that recent remarks from Congress members also played a part in the decision to re-evaluate the mediation role.
A senior Democratic lawmaker, Representative Steny Hoyer of Maryland, called earlier this week for the US to re-evaluate its ties to Qatar should Doha fail to pressure Hamas in the negotiations, and a group of Republican lawmakers submitted legislation aimed at stripping Doha of its coveted status as a major non-NATO ally.
Qatar asserted that it is merely a mediator without the ability to pressure the sides and that only Israel and Hamas were responsible for whether or not an agreement is reached. The Gulf state is a longtime backer of Hamas and hosts its leaders.
In announcing its decision to re-evaluate its role as a mediator, Qatar’s prime minister did not provide a timeline, though some analysts speculated that Doha was unlikely to abandon its position.
More than six months after Hamas’s onslaught, 129 hostages kidnapped from Israel are believed to remain in Gaza, with at least 34 of them confirmed dead, out of the 253 captured on October 7. Their families have grown increasingly desperate, holding months of rallies demanding that the government reach a deal to secure their release.
A weeklong truce deal reached in late November saw 105 hostages freed in exchange for 240 Palestinian security prisoners. Three hostages have been rescued alive by the IDF, four were released prior to the deal and the bodies of 12 hostages have been recovered by troops from Gaza.
