Hamas’s negotiators in Doha have been unable to reach the terror group’s leaders in Gaza since late last week, preventing talks on a ceasefire and hostage release deal from moving forward, a source familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel on Monday.
Last week, Israel submitted updated maps showing its proposed redeployment of troops during the 60-day truce under discussion. The maps had mediators bullish about the chances for an agreement as they envisioned Israel coming down from previous demands to remain in control over larger swaths of Gaza territory, Arab diplomats told The Times of Israel at the time, adding that they expected Hamas to approve the Israeli maps.
But Hamas deliberations on the updated Israeli proposal have continued since Thursday without a response, the source said Monday, lamenting the daily loss of Palestinian lives in the Gaza Strip that have taken place in the interim.
The source added that Israel’s decision to enter the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balah for the first time since the start of the war may further harm efforts to reach Hamas leaders when seeking a response to developments in the Doha negotiations.
With frustration growing from mediators over the perceived foot-dragging by Hamas, the source indicated that Hamas would likely issue a statement declaring that it is still conducting internal deliberations on the Israeli proposal in a positive manner.
While talks in Doha have stalled, a separate track of negotiations has been taking place in Cairo between Israeli negotiators and Egyptian officials that have focused on advancing a new mechanism for aid distribution during the ceasefire under discussion.
Ofir, the brother of kidnapped soldier Matan Angrest, speaks during an Economic Committee meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on July 21, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
The source said Monday that those talks have been progressing well and that a meeting was being planned for Tuesday between Egyptian, Israeli and UN officials to discuss the new mechanism.
The goal is to move away from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, while still satisfying Israel, which argues that Hamas has exploited existing UN distribution mechanisms to divert aid, the source said.
The US- and Israeli-backed GHF has been heavily criticized for forcing Gazans to walk long distances, often coming under deadly fire as they cross IDF lines in order to pick up aid.
An Arab diplomat separately told The Times of Israel on Monday that despite the delay in Hamas’s response, mediators are still optimistic about the chances to reach an agreement in the coming days, given the softened Israeli stance on its troop redeployment and Hamas’s willingness to forgo its demand for an upfront Israeli commitment for a permanent ceasefire.
However, Channel 12 cited unnamed sources familiar with the negotiations who were less optimistic, saying that another week or possibly two may be needed due to the delays.
The network said Israel was threatening to pull its negotiating team from Doha if talks did not advance.
Palestinians carry sacks of humanitarian aid unloaded from trucks convoy that were heading to Gaza City, in the northern Gaza Strip, July 20, 2025. (AP Photo/ Jehad Alshrafi)
With the talks failing to yield a breakthrough, Israeli troops on Monday began ground operations in the Deir al-Balah area, one of the few places in the Strip where the IDF has, until now, not operated with ground forces because it believed Hamas to be holding hostages there, though it has conducted airstrikes in the city. Hamas has vowed to execute captives if the IDF approaches.
Amid the IDF advance, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said it was “shocked and alarmed” at the decision and demanded the government explain the rationale behind it.
The IDF has long said it doesn’t operate in areas in which it knows that hostages are located, though, former captives have testified to having come under Israeli fire that nearly lost them their lives. Six hostages were executed last year in Rafah after troops unknowingly approached an area near where they were being held.
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