A senior Israeli official said Friday that Hamas is dragging its feet in response to a new proposal for a ceasefire-hostage release deal presented by mediators to both Israel and the terrorist group, casting doubt on the seriousness of Hamas’ intentions.
“The Israeli delegation has gone a long way,” the official said. “But given Hamas’ refusal to move forward, doubts are growing about their seriousness. We are approaching a decisive moment in the negotiations — and Hamas is creating an obstacle on the issue of prisoner release terms.”
The statement comes after days of what officials had described as “cautious optimism,” including U.S. President Donald Trump, who also acknowledged progress earlier in the week. But the senior official noted that “today marks the 12th day the Israeli delegation has been in Doha, and the negotiations are facing many difficulties.”
According to the source, Hamas appears to believe time is on its side. “But on the battlefield, they will find that it’s not,” the official warned.
Despite nearly two weeks of talks in the Qatari capital, several key issues remain unresolved. These include the scope and delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, the deployment of Israeli forces in the enclave and how negotiations will proceed during the proposed 60-day ceasefire period. Additionally, the source said, “we haven’t yet entered discussions over the identity of the hostages to be released.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has previously said that Israel would not be the party to determine which prisoners are released under any agreement.
Just hours earlier, officials familiar with the details of an overnight meeting of the Security Cabinet had expressed cautious optimism that a deal was approaching. In recent days, Netanyahu was reported to have shown significant flexibility regarding a withdrawal, and now everything hinges on Hamas and its response to the proposal and the maps presented to it.
“Any notion that we will return to the lines of January 19 or March 2 has no basis—we will not return to those lines,” a senior Israeli official said Thursday evening, referring to lines held by the IDF before the previous ceasefire collapsed. “We’ve been working here continuously for about two weeks. Over the past week, a new communications channel has opened in Cairo on humanitarian issues, and on some of these, we’ve made progress. There is also strong American involvement.”
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Unlike previous rounds of talks, the source added, “We came here with a mandate and operational flexibility. The prime minister and [Strategic Affairs] Minister [Ron] Dermer are in daily contact with us.” He said Israel’s flexibility was not being matched by Hamas, whose refusal to engage raised doubts. “We question how serious they are.”
According to the official, Hamas’ rejectionism is not limited to the issue of prisoners. “As soon as Hamas opens the door, we’ll be able to make further progress. But since we’ve moved on to other issues, we’ve encountered stalling and obstruction that are preventing the talks from advancing.”
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Khalil al-Khayya, Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu
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The official emphasized that while Israel enjoys full American backing, Hamas has none. “The mediators’ proposal landed at 2 a.m., and we’re reviewing it. There has been progress regarding deployment lines. We’ve shown flexibility throughout the past several days. We keep saying yes, but Hamas hasn’t responded.”
Meanwhile, two Hamas officials told Reuters there was still no agreement on key issues and no breakthrough had been achieved. According to them, disputes remain over the withdrawal maps presented by Israel, mechanisms for delivering aid to Gaza and guarantees that a ceasefire would lead to an end to the war.
In a conversation earlier Friday with Pope Leo XIV, Prime Minister Netanyahu said the negotiations were advancing and that the parties were nearing a deal. His office said he “provided an update on Israel’s efforts to secure the release of hostages and a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza—efforts that so far have not been reciprocated by Hamas.”