Israel says it is considering alternatives to ceasefire talks with Hamas, deepening uncertainty

By Samy Magdy and Wafaa Shurafa Associated Press CAIRO Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared Friday his regime was considering alternative options to ceasefire talks with Hamas after Israel and the U S recalled their negotiating teams throwing the future of the negotiations into further uncertainty Netanyahu s report came as a Hamas official stated negotiations were expected to resume next week and portrayed the recall of the Israeli and American delegations as a pressure tactic Egypt and Qatar which are mediating the talks alongside the United States reported the pause was only temporary and that talks would resume though they did not say when Related Articles Letters Voters have the power to lift nation s veil of fear DePetris Trump and Netanyahu don t have the same goals French President Macron says France will recognize Palestine as a state US cuts short its Gaza ceasefire talks and accuses Hamas of lacking good faith Officers say Palestinians seeking aid are killed in Gaza as Israel widens evacuation orders The teams left Qatar on Thursday as President Donald Trump s special envoy Steve Witkoff disclosed Hamas latest response to proposals for a deal demonstrated a lack of desire to reach a truce Witkoff noted the U S will look at alternative options without elaborating In a announcement circulated by his office Netanyahu echoed Witkoff saying Hamas is the obstacle to a hostage release deal Together with our U S allies we are now considering alternative options to bring our hostages home end Hamas s terror rule and secure lasting peace for Israel and our region he revealed He did not elaborate Israel s ruling body didn t right now respond to whether negotiations would resume next week Stall in talks comes as hunger worsens A breakthrough on a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas has eluded the Trump administration as experts warn Gaza is being pushed closer to famine after months of Israel entirely blocking food or letting in only limited amounts This month deaths related to malnutrition have accelerated More then two dozen Western-aligned countries and more than charity and human rights groups have called for an end to the war harshly criticizing Israel s blockade and a new aid delivery model it has rolled out The charities and rights groups stated even their own staff were struggling to get enough food On Thursday French President Emmanuel Macron communicated that France would recognize Palestine as a state The urgent thing in current times is that the war in Gaza stops and the civilian population is saved he stated Jordan has requested to carry out airdrops of aid into Gaza due to the dire situation a Jordanian official commented The official declared the airdrops will mainly be food and milk formula An Israeli protection official explained the military was coordinating the drops which were expected in the coming days The two authorities spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the yet-to-be-finalized plans Desperate Palestinians gathered at a charity kitchen in Gaza City on Friday clutching empty pots waiting for a share of watery lentil soup Such kitchens distributing cooked meals have been a main source of food for multiple Palestinians but the number of meals they produce every day has plummeted to from more than a million in April according to the U N We ve been living three months without bread explained one woman in line Riham Dwas We re relying on charity kitchens surviving on a pot of lentils and there are a great number of times when we don t even have that When she can t find food she takes her children to a hospital to be put on saline IV drips for sustenance Mourners carry the bodies of strike casualties An Israeli airstrike hit a school-turned-shelter for displaced people in Gaza City killing at least five people including an -year-old boy according to hospital agents Afterwards dozens of mourners marched carrying the bodies from Shifa Hospital as women nearby screamed and wept Enough screamed Taraji Adwan whose son and grandson were among the dead She announced the strike hit as she was filling up water jugs Stop the war Our children are dying from starvation malnutrition dehydration lack of food strikes and dying from fear and destruction Enough Hamas Enough Israel Enough world she noted The Gaza Soundness Ministry revealed around people were killed since Thursday night mostly in strikes but including nine killed while seeking aid Talks have struggled over issue of ending the war Hamas official Bassem Naim revealed Friday that the group was notified that the Israeli delegation returned home for consultations and would return early next week to resume ceasefire negotiations Hamas disclosed that Witkoff s remarks were meant to pressure the group for Netanyahu s benefit during the next round of talks and that in up-to-date days negotiations had made progress Naim reported several gaps had been nearly solved such as the agenda of the ceasefire guarantees to continue negotiating to reach a permanent agreement and how humanitarian aid would be delivered In a joint announcement Egypt and Qatar also commented progress had been made It is a natural to pause talks to hold consultations before the resumption of the dialogue once more they mentioned The sides have held weeks of talks in Qatar reporting small signs of progress but no major breakthroughs Leaders have announced a main sticking point is the redeployment of Israeli troops from positions in Gaza after any ceasefire takes place The deal under discussion is expected to include an initial -day ceasefire in which Hamas would release living hostages and the remains of others in phases in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel Aid supplies would be ramped up and the two sides would hold negotiations on a lasting ceasefire The talks have been bogged down over competing demands for ending the war Hamas says it will only release all hostages in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal and end to the war Israel says it will not agree to end the conflict until Hamas gives up power and disarms The militant group says it is prepared to leave power but not surrender its weapons Hamas is held to be holding the hostages in different locations including tunnels and says it has ordered its guards to kill them if Israeli forces approach Chosen hostages remain in Gaza but fewer than half are assumed to be alive Their families say the start-stop talks are excruciating I thought that maybe something will come from the time that the negotiation Israeli organization were in Doha announced Yehuda Cohen whose son Nimrod is being held hostage And when I heard that they re coming back I ask myself When will this nightmare end - Shurafa stated from Deir al-Balah Gaza Strip