DOHA: Gaza mediator Qatar said on Tuesday that it was "still waiting" for Israel's response to a proposal for a truce and hostage release deal in the Palestinian territory after Hamas agreed to the framework more than a week ago. Qatar and Egypt, along with the United States, have been mediating indirect ceasefire negotiations throughout the Gaza war, but despite sealing two temporary truces, the successive rounds of talks have repeatedly failed to bring a lasting end to the conflict.
The latest proposal put forward by mediators involves an initial 60-day truce and staggered exchanges of hostages for Palestinian prisoners, but Israel has appeared reluctant to budge from its demand that all the hostages being held at Gaza be freed at once. "We are still waiting for an answer" from Israel, Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed al Ansari told a regular news conference on Tuesday, adding: "The statements that we are hearing right now do not fill us with confidence."
Last week, Hamas said it had accepted the new ceasefire proposal following a round of talks in Cairo. The proposal followed the contours of a deal first proposed by US envoy Steve Witkoff, with Qatar saying it hewed closely to a version previously approved by Israel.
However, as mediators were awaiting Israel's response to the new proposal last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced he had given instructions for new negotiations seeking "the release of all our hostages and the end of the war under conditions acceptable to Israel". In the same remarks, Netanyahu doubled down on plans for the Israeli army to launch a new offensive to capture Gaza City.
Ansari on Tuesday said mediators did not "take seriously" any announcements outside the negotiation process itself. "The responsibility now lies on the Israeli side to respond to an offer that is on the table. Anything else is political posturing by the Israeli side," he said. Referring to the Gaza City offensive, he added that Qatar did not see a "positive trajectory coming out of this escalation on the ground".
Meanwhile, the Israeli army raided the West Bank city of Ramallah on Tuesday, leaving 14 people wounded as troops fanned out across the city centre, the Palestinian Red Crescent said. Tensions have remained high in the occupied West Bank since the October 2023 attack on Israel which sparked the Gaza war, with repeated raids by the Israeli army on Palestinian population centres, particularly in the north.
The Red Crescent said at least 14 people were wounded in the latest raid. Seven were hit by live rounds, while the rest were injured by rubber bullets or tear-gas inhalation. It added that Israeli forces were "preventing our teams from reaching the injured in a besieged area". A journalist saw soldiers on the ground around Al Manara Square in the city centre and on balconies overlooking it.
The Israeli army confirmed it had launched an operation in the area but did not provide more details. Although the army has carried out frequent operations in the cities and refugee camps of the northern West Bank, it has done so relatively rarely in Ramallah, headquarters of the Palestinian Authority.
Palestinians were seen throwing stones at troops as they began the operation, which appeared to target currency exchange offices in particular.
Violence in the West Bank has intensified since the October 2023 attack. At least 972 Palestinians — including both militants and civilians — have been killed in the territory by Israeli troops or settlers, according to an AFP tally based on Palestinian Authority figures. — AFP
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