JERUSALEM / ISTANBUL 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to recall his remaining negotiators to Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange negotiations in Qatar, Israeli media said on Thursday.

"The agreement is getting further and further away, and Hamas is showing no flexibility," Israel Hayom daily said, citing an Israeli security source.

“The prime minister decided to return the entire negotiation team from Doha to Israel,” the newspaper said.

On Tuesday, Netanyahu ordered senior members of his negotiating delegation to return from Qatar, while the technical teams remained.

Hamas accused Netanyahu of deceiving global public opinion, saying Israeli negotiators lacked the authority to make binding decisions.

Israel’s negotiating delegation includes members from the military, the Shin Bet security agency, and Netanyahu’s office. Its mandate, however, is reportedly limited to a US-brokered proposal presented months ago by envoy Steve Witkoff – a plan Netanyahu rejected, though Hamas has not.

The Witkoff plan calls for the release of hostages in two stages: half on the first day of a ceasefire, followed by extended talks to end the war. The remaining hostages would be freed if an agreement is reached during a two-month truce.

Israel estimates 58 hostages are still held in Gaza, including 20 believed to be alive. At the same time, more than 10,100 Palestinians remain in Israeli prisons, facing torture, hunger, and medical neglect, according to Palestinian and Israeli human rights reports.

Hamas has repeatedly offered to release Israeli captives “all at once” in exchange for ending the war, Israeli troop withdrawal, and the release of Palestinian prisoners.

Netanyahu, however, has added new conditions, including the disarmament of Palestinian resistance factions in Gaza, which Hamas refuses under continued occupation.

Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing nearly 53,800 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for 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.