JAKARTA - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump appear to be leaving Gaza's ceasefire negotiations with Hamas. The two leaders accused Palestinian militants of not wanting an agreement.
Netanyahu said Israel is currently considering an "alternative" option to achieve its goal, namely repatriating the hostages from Gaza and ending Hamas power in the region.
While Trump believes the Hamas leaders will now be "buried".
Hamas really doesn't want to make a deal. I think they want to die and it's really bad, and it has to come to a point where you have to finish the job," Trump said on Friday, July 25.
The statement appeared to leave little or even no room at all, at least in the short term, to resume negotiations to stop fighting, as international concerns escalated over the deteriorating hunger in Gaza that was ravaged by war.
French President Emmanuel Macron, responding to the deteriorating humanitarian situation, announced that Paris would be the first major Western power to recognize an independent Palestinian state.
Britain and Germany said they were not ready, but then joined France in calling for an immediate ceasefire.
British Prime Minister Keith Starmer said his government would only recognize the Palestinian state as part of a negotiated peace agreement.
Trump brushed off Macron's move.
"What he said was not important," he said. "He's a very good person. I like him, but the statement was not weighted," he continued.
Israel and the United States withdrew their delegation on Thursday from ceasefire negotiations in Qatar, hours after Hamas submitted its response to a ceasefire proposal.
Sources initially said on Thursday the withdrawal of the Israeli team was only for consultation and did not necessarily mean the negotiations had reached a crisis.
However, Netanyahu's statement indicated Israel's position had hardened overnight.
US envoy Steve Witkoff said Hamas was to blame for the deadlock, and Netanyahu said Witkoff had taken the right decision.
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Hamas senior official Basem Naim said on Facebook the negotiations were constructive, and criticized Witkoff's statement aimed at pressuring Israel.
"What we have conveyed with full awareness and understanding of the complexity of the situation, we believe it can lead to an agreement if the enemy has the will to achieve it," he said.
Mediators Qatar and Egypt said there had been some progress in the final round of negotiations.
They said the suspension was a normal part of the process and they committed to continuing to reach a ceasefire through partnerships with the US.
The proposed ceasefire would suspend fighting for 60 days, allow more aid to Gaza, and release about 50 remaining hostages detained by militants in exchange for Palestinian prisoners imprisoned in Israel.
This is hampered by disagreements over how far Israel must withdraw its troops and the future after 60 days if no permanent agreement is reached.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right national security minister in the Netanyahu coalition, welcomed Netanyahu's move, calling for a complete cessation of aid to Gaza and the full conquest of the region.
"The total destruction of Hamas, pushing for emigration, settlements (Yahudi)," said Ben-Gvir via upload X.
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