Most of the Israeli delegation involved in indirect ceasefire talks with Hamas in Doha is expected to return home, as negotiations have yielded little progress, Israeli officials said Monday. One representative from the Mossad intelligence agency may remain in the Qatari capital.
The move follows internal Israeli deliberations and rising frustration from the Trump administration, which has criticized Israel for not doing enough to advance a comprehensive agreement. A U.S. official said Israel is "the only party not working to promote a full deal."
A senior Hamas official claimed Monday that no substantive talks have taken place since Saturday, accusing Israel of sending a delegation without a mandate and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of using the talks to mislead international audiences. “Netanyahu’s comments about aid to Gaza are an attempt to blind the international community,” Hamas said, adding that no humanitarian trucks had successfully entered the Gaza Strip, including those that reached the Kerem Shalom crossing.
The Israeli officials returning from Doha include M., the deputy head of the Shin Bet internal security service; Gal Hirsch, the government coordinator for hostages and missing persons; and Ophir Falk, Netanyahu’s foreign policy adviser.
According to senior Israeli sources, Steve Witkoff, the U.S. president’s special envoy to the Middle East, presented a proposal on Saturday involving a 45- to 60-day ceasefire in exchange for the release of 10 living hostages and the remains of 16 others. The proposal also calls for the release of Palestinian prisoners based on terms to be decided. During the proposed ceasefire, negotiations would begin for a second phase to free all remaining hostages and retrieve the bodies of Israeli soldiers, culminating in an end to the war in Gaza.
Israel has agreed to the U.S. proposal, the officials said, but Hamas has yet to respond.
Israeli officials believed there was a window for progress during President Donald Trump’s recent visit to the region, anticipating that Hamas might be motivated to strike a deal. However, after Trump’s departure, the Israeli military announced the beginning of "initial steps for Operation Gideon’s Chariots." Two days later, Netanyahu said the negotiating team in Doha was working to exhaust all options, including a comprehensive deal to end the conflict and secure the hostages’ release.
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Israel has rejected claims by some mediators that the Doha delegation lacked a formal mandate from Netanyahu. “There is no real progress in Doha—only the Witkoff proposal, which Israel has approved. There is currently no other viable offer,” a government source said. They added that no additional authorization was needed since “Hamas has not even responded to the proposal as a basis for talks.”
In a statement Monday, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said the Israeli government has failed for 19 months to fulfill its “supreme moral duty” to secure the hostages’ return. “There will be no partial, minimal, or certainly no complete victory until this goal is achieved,” the group said. “Israel cannot afford to abandon negotiations. Doing so would endanger the hostages, exact a heavy toll on our soldiers, and leave Israel politically isolated while sinking deeper into the Gaza quagmire.”