Trump accuses Hamas of obstructing Gaza ceasefire deal

WASHINGTON

Palestinian group Hamas "didn't really want to make a deal," President Donald Trump said Friday after the US and Israel recalled their teams negotiating a possible Gaza ceasefire agreement.

Speaking to reporters at the White House before departing for Scotland, Trump said Hamas "pulled out in terms of negotiating" in the Qatari capital Doha, from where the US and Israel withdrew their negotiators Thursday following the Palestinian group's response to a truce proposal.

"It's very, very bad. It got to me to a point where you're going to have to finish the job," Trump said, claiming that Hamas avoided an agreement because "when you get down to those last 20 hostages ... it's going to be very hard for Hamas to make a deal because they lose their shield."

Trump's special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff announced Thursday that the US delegation participating in the Gaza ceasefire talks will return to Washington for consultations following Hamas' response, which he said "clearly shows a lack of desire to reach a ceasefire in Gaza."

Witkoff said the US would "now consider alternative options to bring the hostages home and try to create a more stable environment for the people of Gaza." It is unclear what "alternative operations" the Trump administration is now weighing.

The lull in negotiations comes as Gaza's humanitarian catastrophe continues to escalate with the UN's World Food Programme estimating that a quarter of the population is facing famine-like conditions.

Almost 100,000 women and children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition and need urgent treatment, the group said amid an ongoing Israeli blockade of the coastal enclave that has severely curtailed aid deliveries.

Over the past 24 hours, an additional nine Palestinians died of starvation, raising the total to 122, according to data from Gaza's Health Ministry. The UN separately reported that at least 294 Palestinians have been killed by Israel since June 30 while seeking humanitarian aid.

‏Israel has killed more than 59,700 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in the Gaza Strip since a Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 cross-border raid that killed roughly 1,200 people. Israel's military campaign has devastated the enclave, collapsed the health system and led to severe food shortages.

‏Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

‏Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

*Michael Hernandez in Washington, DC, contributed to this report.