Israel has not responded to ceasefire proposal, says Qatari official, accuses US of moving goalposts

On August 18, Hamas had accepted the Egypt and Qatar-negotiated deal, which called for a phased ceasefire and hostage release. However, Israel has so far not accepted the proposal, insisting on the immediate release of all the hostages along with disarmament of Hamas, among other demands to end the conflict.

An Israeli soldier moves on top of an armored vehicle near the Israeli-Gaza border, as seen from southern Israel, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Levin)

Israel has not been able to solve the crisis militarily

“Does that sound like anything that any party can accept when it comes to a final deal? This is practically what happens when one side surrenders,” Ansari said. “The Israelis have been militarily trying to solve this issue now for [almost] two years. What is their expectation? That they will secure these military outcomes through diplomatic means?”

He pointed out that the Arab mediators’ ceasefire deal was 98 percent of what US special envoy Steve Witkoff had proposed in July, but after Hamas accepted it, Israel and the United States made additional demands.

According to him, Washington’s conduct of “moving the goalposts at every segment of this crisis only makes it impossible to reach a deal.”

Israel failed to seize opportunity for diplomatic agreement

Ansari conceded that the threat of military pressure may have been effective, but he argued that Israel failed to seize the opportunity for a diplomatic agreement once that pressure buckled Hamas.

“The threat of military pressure is different than actual military pressure on the ground,” he argued.

Occupation of Gaza will be catastrophic

Israel has since stepped up the pressure on Hamas with the launch of an operation to take over Gaza City. Ansairi said the intensification of operations in Gaza City will only mean that the military response from Hamas’s side is going to be all-out war,” which will only result in “guerrilla warfare.

Palestinians displaced during Israeli air and ground operations in the Gaza Strip, walk on an area at a makeshift tent camp in Khan Younis, Monday, Sept. 1, 2025. (Photo: AP)

Israel’s plan to occupy Gaza will only make matters worse for both sides, he said.

“The occupation of Gaza City, which will have catastrophic humanitarian results, is not going to push any side toward a deal,” he contended. “We told the Israelis that they are putting their hostages, their people, at risk without having a strategic view of what they want to do.”

Israel starts mobilising reservists

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Israel began mobilising tens of thousands of reservists and repeated evacuation warnings as part of its plan to widen its offensive in Gaza City. This comes as ground and air forces press forward and pursue more targets in northern and central Gaza, striking parts of Zeitoun and Shijaiyah — two western Gaza City neighborhoods that Israeli forces have repeatedly invaded during the nearly two-year war against Hamas militants.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the war will continue until all the hostages are returned and Hamas surrenders.

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