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A Hamas delegation led by senior figure Khalil al-Hayya met with Egyptian and Qatari mediators in Doha this week, but sources close to the group said Friday that the talks ended without progress toward a Gaza cease-fire.
"Egyptian officials met twice with a high-level Hamas delegation," one source told, describing the meetings as "serious" but without "concrete progress."
A second source added that the group rejected a recent Israeli proposal for a 45-day truce in exchange for hostage and prisoner releases and a partial easing of the blockade imposed on Gaza since March 2.
Senior Hamas official Bassem Naim reiterated that the group is seeking a "comprehensive agreement" to end the war. Israel has demanded Hamas’ full disarmament, a condition the group continues to reject.
Meanwhile, Israel resumed its offensive on March 18 after a fragile two-month truce, and the government announced plans this week to further expand its military campaign. The Israeli military said this includes displacing “most” of Gaza's 2.4 million residents, most of whom have already been displaced at least once since the war began on Oct. 7, 2023.
An Israeli security source told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that a “window of opportunity” remains for a deal to coincide with U.S. President Donald Trump’s upcoming visit to the region from May 13 to 16. However, a source close to Hamas said, "We do not expect an agreement to be concluded by then."
As Israel pushes to expand its military campaign, international concern is rising over humanitarian conditions in Gaza. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Friday criticized emerging plans by Israel and the United States to centralize food distribution through "Secure Distribution Sites."
UNICEF spokesperson James Elder said the proposed system—designed to serve around 300,000 people per hub—could force civilians to choose between "displacement and death," and warned it would "reinforce control over life-sustaining items as a pressure tactic."
While the proposed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, supported by the U.S., claims that distribution sites would be "neutral," Elder noted the risks posed to children and families duringaffirms role in security, not distribution U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said Friday that Israel would not be involved in distributing or importing humanitarian aid but would provide security in the war zone. "The humanitarian aid will not depend on anything other than our ability to get the food into Gaza," he said, denying that aid distribution is tied to ceasefire conditions.
The U.S. continues to mediate with Qatar and Egypt but has yet to secure another cease-fire phase. Meanwhile, malnutrition-related deaths are rising, and the U.N. warns of an impending famine.
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