Israel presses forward with Gaza ceasefire talks despite 'unacceptable' Hamas demands
6 July 2025, 09:42
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has confirmed a negotiating team will be sent to Qatar but has rejected Hamas' ceasefire changes as "unacceptable."
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The delegations will meet on in Doha in Sunday in an attempt to trash out an agreement overseen by mediators from the US, Qatar and Egypt.
It comes after Hamas said it had "positively responded" to the ceasefire proposal subject to further talks.
However, Mr Netanyahu has dismissed amendments proposed by Hamas to a potential ceasefire agreement, calling them “unacceptable,” though he did not specify which changes were being rejected.
Among the reported demands, Hamas is calling for the removal of the controversial US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
Read more: Israeli strikes and gunfire kill 94 people in Gaza overnight
A statement from Mr Netanyahu's office said: "The changes that Hamas is seeking to make in the Qatari proposal were conveyed to us last night and are unacceptable to Israel.
"In light of an assessment of the situation, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has directed that the invitation to proximity talks be accepted and that the contacts for the return of our hostages - on the basis of the Qatari proposal that Israel has agreed to - be continued."
On Friday, US President Donald Trump said a ceasefire could be agreed "next week" and promised to be "very firm" with Mr Netanyahu ahead of a meeting between the two leaders at the White House on Monday.
He previously said Israel had accepted the conditions necessary for a 60-day ceasefire.
US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told Israel's Channel 12 TV on Thursday: "We sure hope it's a done deal, but I think it's all going to be what Hamas is willing to accept.
"One thing is clear: The president wants it to be over. The prime minister wants it to be over. The American people, the Israeli people, want it to be over."
In the past 24 hours, 70 people have died and 332 injured in hospitals in the Gaza Strip after Israeli strikes, according to the Hamas-run Palestinian Ministry of Health.
It said that a total of 57,338 people have died since the October 7, 2023 attack.
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