The Japan Times - Mediators working to bridge gaps in faltering Gaza truce talks

The indirect negotiations in Qatar appear deadlocked after both sides blamed the other for blocking a deal for the release of hostages and a 60-day ceasefire after 21 months of fighting.

An official with knowledge of the talks said they were "ongoing" in Doha on Monday, telling AFP: "Discussions are currently focused on the proposed maps for the deployment of Israeli forces within Gaza."

"Mediators are actively exploring innovative mechanisms to bridge the remaining gaps and maintain momentum in the negotiations," the source added on condition of anonymity.

Hamas accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu -- who wants to see the Palestinian militant group destroyed as a fighting force -- of being the main obstacle.

"Netanyahu is skilled at sabotaging one round of negotiations after another, and is unwilling to reach any agreement," the group wrote on Telegram.

In Gaza, the civil defence agency said at least 22 people were killed Monday in the latest Israeli strikes in and around Gaza City and in Khan Yunis in the south.

An Israeli military statement said troops had destroyed "buildings and terrorist infrastructure" used by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants in Gaza City's Shujaiya and Zeitun areas.

The Al-Quds Brigades -- the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, which has fought alongside Hamas -- released footage on Monday that it said showed its fighters firing missiles at an Israeli army command and control centre near Shujaiya.

- Talks 'ongoing' -

US President Donald Trump said he was still hopeful of securing a truce deal, telling reporters on Sunday night: "We are talking and hopefully we're going to get that straightened out over the next week."

Hamas's top negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, and the leadership of Hamas and Islamic Jihad held a "consultative meeting" in Doha on Sunday evening to "coordinate visions and positions", a Palestinian source with knowledge of the talks told AFP.

"Egyptian, Qatari and American mediators continue their efforts that make Israel present a modified withdrawal map that would be acceptable," they added.

On Saturday, the same source said Hamas rejected Israeli proposals to keep troops in more than 40 percent of Gaza, as well as plans to move Palestinians into an enclave on the border with Egypt.

A senior Israeli political official countered by accusing Hamas of inflexibility and trying to deliberately scupper the talks by "clinging to positions that prevent the mediators from advancing an agreement".

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and Palestinian minister of state for foreign affairs Varsen Aghabekian Shahin headed to Brussels on Monday for talks between the EU and its Mediterranean neighbours.

But the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority denied media reports that any meeting between the two was on the agenda.

- Pressure -

Netanyahu has said he would be ready to enter talks for a more lasting ceasefire once a deal for a temporary truce is agreed, but only when Hamas lays down its arms.

He is under pressure to quickly wrap up the war, with military casualties rising and with public frustration mounting at both the continued captivity of the hostages taken on October 7 and a perceived lack of progress in the conflict.

Politically, his fragile governing coalition is holding, for now, but Netanyahu is seen as beholden to a minority of far-right ministers in prolonging an increasingly unpopular conflict.

He also faces a backlash over the feasibility, cost and ethics of a plan to build a so-called "humanitarian city" from scratch in southern Gaza to house Palestinians if and when a ceasefire takes hold.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees has described the proposed facility as a "concentration camp" and Israel's security establishment is reported to be unhappy at the plan.

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

Israel's military reprisals have killed 58,386 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.

T.Maeda--JT