US special envoy Steve Witkoff reportedly met in Paris with Qatari officials on Thursday to discuss efforts to reach a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza, though Israeli officials sounded skeptical about progress toward an agreement.
The report on Channel 12 news, citing two sources familiar with the details, came as Israel faced mounting global pressure over the war against Hamas in Gaza, with a senior EU official terming the war a “genocide” and Pope Leo XIV telling President Isaac Herzog that a ceasefire must be reached “with urgency.”
Witkoff’s meeting also came a day after the American liaison to Hamas told a Saudi newspaper that the US has crafted a comprehensive deal to end the war and free the 48 hostages held in Gaza, at least 20 of whom are thought to be alive. And on Thursday, the foreign ministers of the Arab League met in Cairo, where they reportedly discussed ways to stop the war.
On Wednesday, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer spoke with Witkoff and Qatari officials, according to Channel 12, though Israeli officials reportedly expressed doubt about the chances for a breakthrough.
“So far, there is no progress in the negotiations – mainly due to the Israeli position,” one of the network’s sources said.
“There is no significant American move,” an Israeli official told Channel 12. “Hamas in the meantime is not softening enough. No one has a rabbit to pull out of the hat yet.”
Hamas said some two weeks ago that it had accepted a proposed 60-day ceasefire that would see the release of 10 living hostages in exchange for Palestinian security prisoners. This week, the terror group said that it was willing to accept a deal whereby all hostages are released in exchange for Palestinian security prisoners.
But Israel has not responded to the 60-day ceasefire offer and dismissed the terror group’s latest statement as a repetition of its previous claims. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has demanded that the war end only with the release of the hostages, the disarmament of Hamas, and the establishment of a Palestinian government that is affiliated neither with Hamas nor the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority. The demands also include that Gaza be demilitarized and that Israel retain security control there.
Israel, meanwhile, is proceeding with its conquest of Gaza City, a major offensive that represents an expansion of the fighting that began with the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
The ongoing war continued to draw pushback on Thursday, with the European Commission’s vice president, Teresa Ribera, decrying the “genocide in Gaza,” which she said “exposes Europe’s failure to act and speak with one voice.”
Israel adamantly rejects the charge of genocide, saying it makes efforts to avoid civilian casualties. It accuses Hamas of fighting among civilian populations.
“We strongly condemn the baseless allegations made by the Executive Vice President of the European Commission,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein wrote on X. “Instead of parroting the ‘genocide’ blood libel spread by Hamas, Ribera should have called for the release of all hostages and for Hamas to lay down its arms so that the war can end.”
