(Jerusalem) The American emissary Steve Witkoff acted on Thursday the failure of the talks conducted in Doha for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, questioning the good faith of Hamas, and says it considers “other options” to bring the hostages back.
“We have decided to repatriate our Doha team for consultation after the last response from Hamas, which clearly shows a lack of desire to reach a cease-fire in Gaza,” the special envoy said in a statement.
PHOTO LUDOVIC MARIN, ARCHIVES ASSOCIATED PRESS
American emissary Steve Witkoff
Israel announced earlier Thursday, the recall for consultations of its negotiators committed to Qatar on Thursday in cease-fire discussions with Hamas, while international pressure is intensifying almost two years of a devastating war in Gaza.
“In the light of the response sent this morning by Hamas, it was decided to recall the negotiation team in Israel to continue consultations,” said Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu.
The day before, the Palestinian Islamist movement said that it had responded to a 60 -day truce proposal in the Gaza Strip, ravaged by more than 21 months of war and threatened with famine.
Meanwhile, Israeli bombings and shots killed at least 40 people in the besieged Palestinian territory on Thursday, including children and people who came to receive aid, according to the local civil defense.
Israel faces increasing pressure to end the suffering of the more than two million Palestinians in Gaza, subject to a blockade which deprives them of vital humanitarian aid.
Hamas said on Wednesday to have transmitted its response to a 60-day cease-fire proposal, associated with a release from Israeli hostages against Palestinian prisoners.
These hostages had been removed during the unprecedented attack in Hamas against Israel on October 7, 2023, which sparked the war.
Photo Dawoud both cravings, Reuters
Mourning people carry bodies during the funeral of the Palestinians killed during the Israeli night strikes at night, in the city of Gaza, on July 24, 2025.
In response, Israel has sworn to destroy Hamas and launched a major offensive in Gaza, killing thousands of deaths and causing a humanitarian disaster.
The hostage families forum, the main association of relatives of the captives selected in Gaza, expressed its “strong concern” after the reminder of the negotiators, believing that “each passing day reduces the chances of saving the hostages”.
The indirect talks between Israel and Hamas, opened in Doha on July 6 under Qatari, American and Egyptian mediation, have so far led to any concrete result.
According to a Palestinian source, Hamas’ response includes amendments offered to the clauses on the entry of humanitarian aid, cards from the Gaza areas from which the Israeli army should withdraw, as well as guarantees on the end of the war.
“Children fall”
Israel, who refuses to give guarantees on a permanent cease-fire, said on Wednesday that it “accepted the Qatari proposal as well as the updated proposition of [l’émissaire américain Steve] Witkoff “, but that” Hamas refuses “.
The United States has announced that Mr. Witkoff should take talks in Europe this week on a ceasefire and a “humanitarian corridor” to transport aid to Gaza. He could then travel in the Middle East.
Israel, which has been begging Gaza since October 2023, imposed a total blockade in early March, very partially relaxed at the end of May, causing serious shortages of food, drugs and fuel.
Photo khamis al-rifi, reuters
Palestinians are waiting to receive food in the city of Gaza on July 24, 2025.
Youssef Hassouna, AFP video journalist living in the city of Gaza, says that “it is extremely difficult to obtain food” and water for him and his family.
“Children fall while walking for lack of food,” said another AFP videographer, Salma al-Qaddoumi, referring to her three nephews aged 4 to 12.
AFP, AP and Reuters press agencies, as well as the BBC, called Israel to “authorize the entry and exit of journalists in Gaza”, saying “deeply worried that hunger threatens their survival”.
People “starve”
According to the boss of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, a “large proportion” of the population in Gaza “dies of hunger”.
On Tuesday, a hospital in the Palestinian territory announced the death of 21 children in 72 hours, dead in malnutrition or hunger.
The Israeli government has defended itself by affirming Wednesday that “Gaza today, there is no famine caused by Israel”, accusing Hamas of preventing the distribution of aid and looting it. Hamas rejects these accusations.
On Thursday, the Israeli authorities said that around 70 aid trucks had been unloaded the day before the crossing points and that more than 150 “had already been recovered by the UN and international organizations in Gaza”.
Humanitarian agencies claim that the authorizations granted by Israel are limited and that coordination to transport trucks constitutes a major challenge in the war zone.
The attack on October 7 led to the Israeli side of 1,219 people on the Israeli, mostly civilians,, according to an AFP count made from official data. Of the 251 people kidnapped that day, 49 remain hostages in Gaza, 27 of which were declared dead by the army.
Israeli reprisals left 59,587 dead in Gaza, mainly civilians, according to data from the Ministry of Health in Gaza, deemed reliable by the UN.