Officials from Israel and Hamas were holding talks to end the war in Gaza for the third consecutive day on Tuesday in Doha, Qatar, as President Trump and Arab mediators intensified their efforts to broker a cease-fire.
Israel and Hamas appeared to be closer to a truce than in recent weeks, but they were still wrangling over the terms of a deal that would see the release of hostages held in Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel met President Trump on Monday in Washington, where he is expected to stay through Thursday.
During previous cease-fire talks, Israelis and Palestinians have seen their hopes for an agreement rise, only to be dashed days later, with Israel and Hamas blaming each other for obstructing progress.
“There are still disputes between the two sides,” said Jehad Harb, an analyst on Palestinian affairs based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. “But if they have the will, they can conclude an agreement.”
Hamas, which has a new leader in Gaza, has insisted that any deal must pave a path to a complete and lasting cessation of hostilities. Mr. Netanyahu has insisted that Israel will agree to that only if Hamas’s military wing and government are dismantled.
On Sunday, Mr. Trump said he thought that an agreement on Gaza was close. “Could have it this week,” he told reporters.
Here is where things stand in the talks, based on conversations with a Hamas official, an Israeli official and a person briefed on the negotiations, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive details.
A dispute over aid distribution
Hamas has demanded that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the controversial, Israeli-backed aid group, stop operating in the enclave. Israel has insisted that the group continue to hand out food.
Since the foundation began operations in May, scores of hungry and desperate Palestinians have been killed or wounded on their way to collect parcels of food from its distribution sites.
Hamas wants U.N. agencies and international organizations to facilitate the distribution of relief supplies. Israeli officials have suggested the United Nations should play a role alongside the foundation, saying that the foundation was needed to allow for the delivery of aid without Hamas benefiting. They say that under the U.N.-run system, Hamas took control of much of the food and other aid reaching the territory, keeping some for its own people, selling some on the black market and restricting supplies for ordinary Gazans.
Hamas has denied allegations that it has stolen aid and has said it tries to crack down on looting. Some Palestinians from Gaza say they have seen Hamas operatives taking aid.
The United Nations and other international aid organizations have criticized the new system, saying the amount of aid being delivered falls far short of what is needed and forces people to walk for miles in dangerous conditions for a chance to find food. The agencies have accused Israel of turning aid into a weapon.
Withdrawal of Israeli forces
Hamas wants Israeli troops to withdraw from most of Gaza during the initial phase of a cease-fire. Israel, however, has said it wants to carry out a more modest retreat and maintain control of a large section of southern Gaza.
During a previous cease-fire this year, the Israeli military withdrew from parts of Gaza but did not leave the territory altogether.
Assurances on permanently ending the war
Hamas has requested assurances that Israel will maintain the cease-fire until a comprehensive deal to end the war is agreed. Officials for the group have expressed concern that Israel could restart the war after it secures the freedom of some of the remaining hostages in Gaza.
Israel has resisted language in an agreement that would not allow it to return to fighting under any circumstance.
On Wednesday, Mr. Netanyahu suggested that the war was not on the verge of ending. “There won’t be Hamas,” he said. “We will free our hostages, and we will defeat Hamas.”
Hostage-prisoner swaps
Israel and Hamas are believed to have agreed that 10 living hostages and the remains of 18 others should be released during the first 60 days of a cease-fire, but they have not reached a consensus on how many Palestinian prisoners should be freed during the same period. Up to 20 hostages are still thought to be alive.
Hamas has previously said it wants Israel to free the most prominent Palestinians being held, including Marwan Barghouti, a prominent political leader who is serving several life sentences after being convicted of involvement in the killing of Israelis decades ago.
It is not clear if Israel will agree to release the most high-profile prisoners.
Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, told reporters on Monday afternoon that the “utmost priority” for President Trump in the Middle East was to “end the war in Gaza and to return all of the hostages.”
“There was a cease-fire proposal that Israel supports that was sent to Hamas, and we hope that they will agree to this proposal. We want to see all of the hostages released,” she said.
Hamas’s new leader
The militant group’s decision on a cease-fire will largely hinge on Izz al-Din al-Haddad, its new de facto leader in Gaza. Mr. al-Haddad took over the military wing in Gaza after Israeli forces killed Muhammad Sinwar, according to a senior Middle Eastern intelligence official and three Israeli defense officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive details.
Mr. al-Haddad, who is in his mid-50s, helped plan the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, the officials said.
He is believed to have said in recent weeks that he will either achieve an “honorable deal” to end the war with Israel or else the war will become “a war of liberation or a war of martyrdom,” the Middle Eastern intelligence official said.
Mr. al-Haddad views the history of Chechen resistance against Russian rule in the 1990s as an example that Hamas in Gaza should follow, the Middle Eastern intelligence official added. For years, Chechen fighters battled with Russian troops in a war that left the region in ruins.
Ronen Bergman and Tyler Pager contributed reporting.
Adam Rasgon is a reporter for The Times in Jerusalem, covering Israeli and Palestinian affairs.
Natan Odenheimer is a Times reporter in Jerusalem, covering Israeli and Palestinian affairs.
Aaron Boxerman is a Times reporter covering Israel and Gaza. He is based in Jerusalem.
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