Latest Developments
Israeli Envoys Depart for Qatar, U.S. Says Hostages Held in ‘Unacceptable’ Conditions: Israel sent negotiators to Doha on March 10 for a possible resumption of Qatari- and Egyptian-mediated talks with Hamas over a new deal to replace the expired ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed terrorist organization. The two parties have not agreed on a second phase of the truce due to Hamas’s refusal to commit to disarmament and demilitarization. President Donald Trump’s envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, who is set to join deliberations in Qatar on March 12, described Hamas disarming as a prerequisite to any long-term accommodation. “A starter is Hamas demilitarizing, not rearming, leaving all their arms on the ground and leaving Gaza,” Witkoff told Fox News, adding with impatience, “We need a deadline for the second phase. The way the hostages are being held is unacceptable.”
U.S.-Hamas Talks a One-Off: Rare direct talks between U.S. hostage envoy Adam Boehler and Hamas were a “one-off situation,” according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Boehler “had an opportunity to talk directly to someone who has control over” the hostages, Rubio said, adding, “as of now it hasn’t borne fruit. [It d]oesn’t mean he was wrong to try, but our primary vehicle for negotiations on this front will continue to be Mr. Witkoff and the work he’s doing through Qatar.”
Israel Steps up Pressure on Gaza: Israel cut its sole electricity supply to the Gaza Strip on March 9, a dedicated line that had powered a desalination plant in the Palestinian enclave. The move came after Israel halted aid and commercial imports to Gaza as part of an incremental set of sanctions in response to Hamas’s refusal to release the remaining 59 hostages and the impasse in negotiations. The electricity cut had a limited impact on Gazans, who mostly use power provided by generators. The shuttered desalination plant similarly accounts for only a fraction of the territory’s water.
FDD Expert Response
“As negotiators reconvene in Qatar, it is good that the United States is again talking brass tacks. There can be no more avoiding the fact that success hinges on Hamas’s ouster. The Palestinian terrorist group can at least take comfort in the fact that it is being given the option of getting out of Gaza alive.” —Mark Dubowitz, CEO
“With their trademark cynicism, Hamas and its supporters are already busy trying to cast Israel’s sanctions on Gaza as precipitants of a fresh humanitarian crisis. But the world has grown weary of famines that never happened and Palestinian cellphones freely used during supposed energy blackouts. The only people starving in Gaza are the hostages, and that must end along with their captivity.” — Joe Truzman, Senior Research Analyst and Editor at FDD’s Long War Journal
FDD Background and Analysis
“Can Hamas Ever Be Defeated?” by Seth J. Frantzman
“Qatari Advisor’s Comments on Gaza Ceasefire Highlight Gaps with U.S. and Israel,” FDD Flash Brief
“Turning ‘Humanitarian Aid Into a Budget For Terrorism’: Israel Suspends Aid Flow to Gaza After Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension,” FDD Flash Brief
“‘No Progress’: Hamas Rejects Israeli Proposal to Extend Phase One of Ceasefire,” FDD Flash Brief
Issues:
Egypt Gulf States Israel Israel at War