Hamas Signals Softening of Demands in Renewed Hostage Talks, but Major Gaps Remain

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Hamas terrorist representatives in Cairo this week have indicated they may be ready to scale back the demands they made last month, which led to the collapse of hostage negotiations in Doha, according to an Israeli official and an Arab diplomat familiar with the matter who spoke with the Times of Israel Friday.

Arab mediators relayed this development to Israel, but Jerusalem responded that it will not agree to another partial ceasefire. Israel says it is only prepared to abandon its plan to take control of Gaza City if Hamas accepts all of its conditions for ending the war.

These conditions include freeing all 50 remaining hostages, dismantling Hamas’s weapons, and fully demilitarizing the Gaza Strip.

However, the divide on these points, especially disarmament, is substantial.

Instead, the mediators propose a gradual process to address Hamas’ weapons, modeled after Lebanon’s arrangement. Arab nations are willing to contribute forces for this mission, but only if invited by the Palestinian Authority, the diplomat adds.

Israel’s stance that the Palestinian Authority should have no role in governing Gaza blocks that proposal from moving forward.

Despite Israel’s opposition, Egyptian and Qatari mediators intend to resume discussions with Hamas on Saturday. The aim is to secure the group’s approval for a revised proposal that is much closer to the one the US and Israel endorsed last month.

Though labeled a partial agreement, the Arab diplomat notes that the plan could evolve into a permanent ceasefire if further talks succeed during a planned 60-day truce. Under the arrangement, 10 living hostages and the bodies of 18 others would be released in exchange for a negotiated number of Palestinian security prisoners.

Last month, the US and Israel pulled out of the Doha talks, frustrated by Hamas’s demands over the IDF’s withdrawal scope, the humanitarian aid system during the truce, and the quantity of Palestinian prisoners to be freed, the Israeli official says.

If Hamas ultimately approves a softened proposal in the coming days, it would be presented to Israel, forcing Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to decide whether to reverse his pledge to reject partial agreements.

Should Netanyahu agree, further negotiations would still be required to finalize the list of Palestinian prisoners to be released, the Arab diplomat says.

The Israeli official adds that the security establishment will probably recommend accepting the deal, since it would free at least 10 hostages alive, whereas seizing Gaza City could endanger them without guaranteeing Hamas’s surrender.

Netanyahu, however, reportedly believes Hamas is stalling with talk of a partial agreement and that only military pressure will secure the release of all captives.

Channel 12 reports that Netanyahu recently received a “dramatic” document from what the network described as a “professional” source in the negotiations, showing Hamas’s readiness to consider a partial deal. This marks a shift from Hamas’s earlier insistence on a permanent ceasefire commitment before freeing more hostages.

Although Hamas appeared to drop that demand earlier in the summer, its new terms were rejected by both Israel and the US, leading to the talks’ collapse.

The Arab diplomat claims Israel itself introduced new conditions in June concerning the extent of its withdrawal, which slowed the process until the US persuaded Netanyahu to ease them. By that point, Hamas returned with fresh demands, and the opportunity for an agreement was lost.

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