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Hamas Rejects US-Egyptian-Qatari Invite to Ceasefire Talks
Hamas leader and Oct. 7 pogrom mastermind Yahya Sinwar addressing a rally in Gaza. Photo: Reuters/braheem Abu Mustafa
JNS.org — The Hamas terrorist group on Sunday announced that it will not attend a final round of negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage release agreement set for this Thursday.
Israel immediately accepted last week’s invitation by the United States, Egypt, and Qatar to attend the meeting, which is to take place in either Cairo or Doha. Despite Hamas deciding not to send representatives to the talks, the mediators are still planning on holding them, Kan News reported.
In its official statement, Hamas said, “The movement calls on the mediators to present a plan to implement what was agreed upon by the movement on July 2, 2024, based on [US President Joe] Biden’s vision and the UN Security Council resolution.”
The statement went on to say that the mediators “should enforce this on the occupation [Israel] instead of pursuing further rounds of negotiations or new proposals that would provide cover for the occupation’s aggression and grant it more time to continue its genocide against our people.”
A senior Israeli official involved in the negotiations told Axios that the Hamas statement is “a tactical move ahead of a possible attack by Iran and Hezbollah and in an attempt to get better terms for the deal.”
The official added: “If Hamas won’t come to the table, we will continue decimating their forces in Gaza.”
The Hamas announcement comes after Israeli sources told CNN on Sunday that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has indicated to Egyptian and Qatari mediators that the terrorist group is interested in ending the 10-month war sparked by the Hamas-led invasion of the northwestern Negev on Oct. 7.
Biden said during an interview with CBS News on Sunday that he believes that a Gaza ceasefire is still possible before he leaves office.
“Yes. It’s still possible. The plan I put together, endorsed by the G7, endorsed by the UN Security Council, et cetera, is still viable. And I’m working literally every single day — and my whole team — to see to it that it doesn’t escalate into a regional war. But it easily can,” the president said.
The threat of a wider war is at its highest point since the Oct. 7 massacre, with both Iran and Hezbollah vowing to attack Israel after the killings two weeks ago of Hamas terror leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and Hezbollah senior commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut.
Amid concern about a regional conflagration, Israel’s Channel 12 reported that US officials are pushing their Israeli counterparts to finalize a deal as soon as possible.
US, Egyptian, and Qatari leaders released a statement on Aug. 8 calling jointly for an immediate conclusion to talks between Israel and Hamas about a ceasefire and hostage release agreement.
“It is time to bring immediate relief both to the long-suffering people of Gaza as well as the long-suffering hostages and their families,” the three stated. “The time has come to conclude the ceasefire and hostages and detainees release deal.”
The statement, signed by Biden, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, called on both sides to resume urgent talks on Aug. 15 in either Doha or Cairo.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office stated almost immediately that it would send a negotiating delegation next Thursday. “Pursuant to the proposal by the US and the mediators, Israel will — on Aug. 15 — send the negotiations team to a place to be determined in order to finalize the details of the implementation of the framework agreement,” it said.
The post Hamas Rejects US-Egyptian-Qatari Invite to Ceasefire Talks first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.