Following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday evening, senior Israeli officials stated that negotiations with Hamas over a hostage release and ceasefire deal have made significant progress, with most issues already resolved. They emphasized the strong coordination between Jerusalem and Washington on matters related to Gaza, Iran, and broader regional dynamics. However, the fundamental question of ending the war remains unsettled.
“We are aligned on the hostage deal… We’re hopeful it will lead to a breakthrough,” a senior Israeli official told reporters after the dinner. “Hamas’s response to the Qatari proposal was effectively a no. Still, the remaining gaps are narrow enough to justify entering talks with them. We had hoped for a yes, which would have allowed us to finalize things within days. It may take longer, but we’re actively working on it.”
As a third round of indirect talks resumed in Doha on Tuesday morning, another senior Israeli official noted that 80 to 90 percent of the agreement with Hamas has already been agreed upon. However, the official cautioned that finalizing the remaining details could take more than a few days.
A spokesperson for the Qatari Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that the ongoing negotiations will require more time.
“I don’t think I can provide a timeline at this stage, but what I can say is that this process will need time,” Majed Al-Ansari stated during a press conference in Doha. “At the moment, both delegations are in Doha. We are engaging with them separately to establish a framework for the talks. So formal negotiations have not yet begun—we’re still working on setting the terms for the discussions.”
Meanwhile, the Qatari newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported that progress has been made on the clause concerning the delivery mechanism for humanitarian aid into Gaza. According to the report, Hamas is insisting that, during a ceasefire, aid be delivered through the United Nations rather than the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
Coordination with US
Although Prime Minister Netanyahu was anticipated to face strong pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump and his Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, to advance the Gaza negotiations during his visit to Washington, Israeli officials emphasized full coordination between the two sides.
“We have an opportunity to finally secure a peace deal,” said Witkoff, who is scheduled to travel to Qatar this week to join the ongoing talks, speaking to reporters just before the dinner meeting.
Following the dinner, a senior Israeli official emphasized that Israel and the United States maintain “full trust and coordination… total coordination.”
Mediators involved in the negotiations were informed that President Trump expects an agreement to be reached this week, according to an Arab diplomat and another participant in the talks who spoke to The Times of Israel on Monday night.
A Palestinian source close to the negotiations told AFP on Tuesday morning that “discussions are still centered on implementation mechanisms, particularly clauses concerning [IDF] withdrawal and humanitarian aid.”
In Doha, negotiators also addressed the terms of Israel’s partial withdrawal from Gaza during the proposed 60-day ceasefire. An Arab diplomat noted that Israeli officials arrived with a map detailing their planned pullback. While Hamas initially demanded that Israeli forces return to positions held before the collapse of the previous truce on March 2, the diplomat said the group had shown some flexibility.
The main sticking point — whether the agreement would serve as a temporary pause, as Israel insists, or a permanent end to the conflict, as Hamas demands — remains unresolved.
Although the exact post-war framework that Israel or the US envision for Gaza is not yet clear, a senior Israeli official in Washington said Tuesday morning that Israel’s ultimate goal is a territory where “there is no more Hamas.”
