Hamas tells mediators it won’t resume ceasefire talks until hunger crisis addressed

Hamas negotiators in Doha have told mediators that they are uninterested in resuming ceasefire negotiations until the hunger crisis in Gaza subsides, an Arab diplomat and a second source involved in mediation efforts tell The Times of Israel.

Tensions are also at a peak level between Hamas and Arab negotiating countries, Egypt and Qatar. Hamas’s lead negotiator Khalil al-Hayya accused Egypt last week of complicity in the humanitarian crisis, infuriating Cairo. The terror group is also angry at Qatar for signing onto a declaration at the UN earlier this week that called for Hamas to disarm and step down from power, the two sources say.

Earlier this week, Israel presented mediators with its response to the amendments requested by Hamas to the latest ceasefire proposal. The Hamas response angered Israel and the US, which subsequently pulled its negotiators from Doha.

In its latest response, Israel rebuffed Hamas’s demand that the IDF withdraw from population centers along the southern Gaza border.