Ceasefire talks are struggling as Gaza teeters on the edge of starvation.
Welcome to The dailypakpro:
The Trump administration is pulling back from ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas, even though the quickly deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza makes it even more urgent to come to an agreement.
What’s new?
The most recent talks wrapped up early on Thursday when the US and Israeli negotiation teams were called back from Doha, Qatar. On Friday, President Donald Trump mentioned to reporters that “Hamas didn’t really want to strike a deal” and that they would be “hunted down.”
What are the main issues?
The details are a bit fuzzy, but US envoy Steve Witkoff has called out Hamas for not “acting in good faith” during talks. Before this, Hamas’s push for guarantees on a lasting end to the conflict had been a sticking point for Israel.
How have past negotiations played out? Back in January, just before Trump took office, Israel and Hamas reached a temporary ceasefire deal that involved releasing Israeli hostages and boosting humanitarian aid to Gaza. However, that agreement fell apart two months later in March, and the situation in Gaza has only deteriorated since then.
What’s going on in Gaza at the moment?
Gaza is where over 2 million Palestinians are living under incredibly harsh conditions; the World Food Program reported this week that a third of the population hasn’t been able to eat for several days straight, and kids are dying from hunger. Additionally, the UN states that more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces while trying to get food aid in the past few months.
What’s the overall situation?
If the Trump administration wanted to, there’s definitely more the US could do to encourage Israel to agree to a ceasefire, or at least facilitate more aid distribution in a manner that doesn’t put Palestinian lives at greater risk. However, the breakdown of talks this week indicates that no such initiative is on the horizon, even while Gaza is teetering on the edge of famine.
By
