Location at a glance: Gaza talks stall – dispute over Israeli troop deduction

The indirect conversations between Israel and Hamas over a 60-day ceasefire in the Gaza war have stalled. Both sides are therefore responsible for the lack of progress. The aim of the talks in the Qatarian capital Doha is a ceasefire and the release of ten living hostages from the violence of Hamas and the handover of corpses of several kidnappers.

As the German Press Agency (dpa) learned from Hamas circles in Cairo, the extent of the Israeli troop deduction from Gaza is a central point of dispute during the break. The Israeli delegation in Doha put “new maps” on the table in this regard, said a Hamas representative. According to Israeli media reports, the Israeli leadership insists on leaving the military in a wide range in the south of the Gaza Strip.

“Humanitarian city” or internment camp?

Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz had only said at the beginning of the week that Israel in southern Gaza Strip – on the ruins of the border town of Rafah – wanted to build a “humanitarian city” for 600,000 Palestinians displaced. Critics speak of an internment camp that could be associated with a long -term forced deportation. Israel speaks of enabling Palestinians a “voluntary departure”.

For Hamas, remaining of Israeli troops in such a large area is unacceptable. In previous arms rest, Israel’s military had gradually withdrawn from all the population centers in the sealed -off coastal areas. It remained in an approximately one kilometer -wide buffer zone along the borders of the Gaza Strip.

Hamas originally demanded that Israel also withdraw its troops to this stand during the new ceasefire. A Hamas representative told the dpa that his organization had proven “flexibility” in this issue and signaled willingness to accept a more extensive remaining of Israeli forces in Gaza – if not to the extent, as required by Israel.

Cards for the negotiating table

In the late Saturday evening, indications that Israel could go to the intermediaries in Doha on Sunday. This was reported by the Israeli television broadcaster Channel 12, citing an official from another country, which was not mentioned by name. It was initially not clear whether the differences can be bridged during the negotiations. Diplomats from Qatar, Egypt and the USA act as an intermediary.

Israel had previously accused Hamas of “saboting” the talks in Doha through her “uncompromising attitude”, the Israeli newspaper “Jediot Achronot” quoted an Israeli official. “Israel showed willingness to flexibility, while the Hamas (…) persists in positions that do not allow the intermediaries to get an agreement,” the official said. The negotiations would continue, he added. It is currently not possible to review the information from both parties to the conflict.

Thousands demonstrate for freedom of hostage

Meanwhile, thousands of people demonstrate in Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities for the release of all hostages that Hamas captures in the Gaza Strip. “The time window to bring all 50 hostages, the living and the dead home is now open – but not for long,” said Eli Scharabi as a speaker at the central rally in Tel Aviv according to a report by the newspaper “Haaretz”.

Sharabi (53) was hostage in the Hamas tunnels in Gaza for 16 months. After his release in early February of this year, he had to find out that his wife and two small daughters were murdered from the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023 at the terrorist massacre. The family had lived in the Kibbutz Beeri, near the Gaza border in southern Israel. The body of his kidnapped brother Jossi is still captured in Gaza.

Politicians should show humility

In his speech, Sharabi said to Israel’s government politician: “You were chosen to serve this people. With humility, with modesty. It was arrogance that caused the mischief over us – and we are no longer allowed to return to this pattern of behavior.”

According to official Israeli information, 50 people kidnapped from Israel are still captured in the Gaza Strip, of which at least 20 should still be alive. The protests were directed against the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu because, from the demonstrator’s point of view, they pull the process of freedom of hostage.

Only in the course of the aim of the 60-day fire break should the pages negotiate about a permanent attitude of the fighting and the release of the last hostages. These only have a view of release if there is an agreement.

Netanyahus coalition constraints

Critics accuse Netanyahu of delaying an end of the war and wanting to ensure his own political survival. His government coalition includes right-wing extremist and ultra-religious parties that require a military crew of the Gaza Strip to build Israeli settlements there.

No end to bloodshed in Gaza

Meanwhile, Israel continued his attacks against positions, bunkers, tunnels and arms camps of the Hamas in several places on the Gaza Strip. In the northern border town of Beit Hanun alone, dozens of fighter jets 35 “terrorist goals” of the Islamists, as it was said in a message from the Israeli army.

At least 129 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since Saturday morning, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported late Saturday, citing hospitals in Gaza. 33 people were trying to get humanitarian aid. This information, which does not distinguish between civilians and fighters, could not be checked independently. The Israeli military denied an earlier message that his soldiers had shot for those seeking help.