The Japan Times - Israel PM eyes Hamas truce deal despite hurdles in talks

With the Israeli prime minister in Washington, indirect talks stretched into a fourth day in Qatar, with reported complaints of Israeli intransigence on aid distribution to civilians in the war-torn territory.

But in an interview with US television, Netanyahu, who after talks with Donald Trump on Tuesday night was uncompromising in his determination to crush Hamas, appeared more aligned with the US president's optimism.

"I think we're getting closer to a deal," he told FOX Business Network's Mornings with Maria programme. "There's a good chance that we'll have it."

Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also said he thought a deal to end 21 months of bitter fighting was "achievable" and could even herald a more lasting peace.

"If a temporary ceasefire is achieved, we will negotiate on a permanent ceasefire," he added in a speech in the Slovakian capital Bratislava.

Netanyahu is insistent he wants to permanently neutralise the threat to Israel from Hamas, whose October 7, 2023 attack sparked the war.

But Hamas vowed: "Gaza will not surrender... and the resistance will impose the conditions, just as it imposed the equations."

- 'Mostly listening' -

A Palestinian official close to the talks blamed Israel for a lack of progress when discussions broke up late Tuesday because of its "refusal to accept the free entry of aid" into Gaza.

Another Palestinian source familiar with the negotiations said the Israeli delegation was "mostly listening rather than negotiating, which reflects Netanyahu's ongoing policy of obstruction and sabotaging any potential agreement".

Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff, however, said the US administration was "hopeful" of agreement for a 60-day ceasefire by the end of this week.

The deal would include the return of 10 living hostages held by Palestinian militants since October 2023, and nine dead hostages, he added.

Of 251 hostages seized during the attack, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.

Hamas has rebuffed pressure to release all the hostages, demanding an end to the war and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, while Israel wants to ensure militants in Gaza never again pose a threat to its security.

Qatari mediators had warned on Tuesday that it would take time to seal a deal, though Trump kept up his push for an agreement.

"It's a tragedy, and he wants to get it solved, and I want to get it solved, and I think the other side wants to," Trump told reporters, in reference to Netanyahu and Hamas.

Asked earlier as he met US House speaker Mike Johnson if a ceasefire announcement was imminent, Netanyahu replied: "We're certainly working on it."

- 'Like an earthquake' -

On the ground, Gaza's civil defence agency said Wednesday that 22 people were killed in Israeli strikes, at least six of them children. The military said it was looking into two of the strikes which killed 20.

"The explosion was massive, like an earthquake," said Zuhair Judeh, 40, who witnessed one of the strikes, which prompted frantic scenes as people scrabbled in the rubble for survivors.

"It destroyed the house and several nearby homes. The bodies and remains of the martyrs were scattered," he added, calling it "a horrific massacre".

Due to restrictions imposed on media in the Gaza Strip and difficulties accessing the area, AFP is unable to independently verify the death tolls and details shared by the parties involved.

Hamas's October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 57,680 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The United Nations considers the figures reliable.

The military meanwhile said its troops crossed the border into southern Lebanon as part of targeted operations to dismantle infrastructure belonging to Hamas's Lebanese ally Hezbollah.

A video shared by the army claimed to show infantry troops on the ground just over the border, although AFP was unable to verify the footage.

Israel signed a truce with Hezbollah last November but has kept up its strikes, hitting what it says are Hezbollah or Hamas targets.

S.Ogawa--JT