Israel says it is considering alternatives to ceasefire talks with
Hamas, deepening uncertainty
[July 26, 2025]
By SAMY MAGDY and WAFAA SHURAFA
CAIRO (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday his
government 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 statement came as a Hamas official said 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, said the pause was only
temporary and that talks would resume, though they did not say when.
The teams left Qatar on Thursday as President Donald Trump’s special
envoy, Steve Witkoff, said Hamas’ latest response to proposals for a
deal showed a “lack of desire” to reach a truce. Witkoff said the U.S.
will look at “alternative options," without elaborating.
In a statement released 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 said. He did not elaborate.
Israel’s government didn’t immediately 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 100 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 said even their own staff were
struggling to get enough food.
On Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France
would recognize Palestine as a state. “The urgent thing today is that
the war in Gaza stops and the civilian population is saved," he said.
Jordan has requested to carry out airdrops of aid into Gaza “due to the
dire situation,” a Jordanian official said. The official said the
airdrops will mainly be food and milk formula.
An Israeli security official said the military was coordinating the
drops, which were expected in the coming days. The two officials 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 many Palestinians, but the number of meals they produce every day
has plummeted to 160,000 from more than a million in April, according to
the U.N.
“We’ve been living three months without bread," said one woman in line,
Riham Dwas. "We’re relying on charity kitchens, surviving on a pot of
lentils and there are many 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 victims
An Israeli airstrike hit a school-turned-shelter for displaced people in
Gaza City, killing at least five people, including an 11-year-old boy,
according to hospital officials. Afterwards, dozens of mourners marched
carrying the bodies from Shifa Hospital as women nearby screamed and
wept.
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Palestinians carry the bodies of people who were killed in an
Israeli airstrike on a school in Gaza that has been used as a
shelter, during their funeral near the Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza
City, Friday, July 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
“Enough!” screamed Taraji Adwan, whose son and grandson were among
the dead. She said 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
said.
The Gaza Health Ministry said around 80 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 said Friday that the group was told that
the Israeli delegation returned home for consultations and would
return early next week to resume ceasefire negotiations.
Hamas said that Witkoff's remarks were meant to pressure the group
for Netanyahu's benefit during the next round of talks and that in
recent days negotiations had made progress. Naim said 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 statement, Egypt and Qatar also said progress had been
made. “It is a natural to pause talks to hold consultations before
the resumption of the dialogue once more,” they said.
The sides have held weeks of talks in Qatar, reporting small signs
of progress but no major breakthroughs. Officials have said 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 60-day
ceasefire in which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and the
remains of 18 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 believed to be holding the hostages in different locations,
including tunnels, and says it has ordered its guards to kill them
if Israeli forces approach.
Some 50 hostages remain in Gaza but fewer than half are believed 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 team were in Doha," said 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?”
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Shurafa reported from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip.
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