President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said Thursday the U.S. is cutting short Gaza ceasefire talks and bringing home its negotiating team from Qatar for consultations, after the latest response from Hamas “shows a lack of desire to reach a ceasefire in Gaza.”
The talks have been bogged down over competing demands for ending the war. Hamas says it will only release all hostages in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal and end to the war. Israel says it will not agree to end the war until Hamas gives up power and disarms — a condition the militant group rejects.
As Israel's blockade and military offensive in Gaza grinds on, four leading news organizations said Thursday that their journalists there are facing the threat of starvation. The joint statement by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, Reuters and the BBC called on Israel to allow journalists in and out of Gaza and allow adequate food supplies into the territory.
Israel’s war in Gaza, launched in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, has killed more than 59,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Its count doesn’t distinguish between militants and civilians, but the ministry says that more than half of the dead are women and children.
Here's the latest:
UK prime minister says Gaza situation is ‘unspeakable and indefensible’
Ahead of an emergency phone call Friday with the leaders of France and Germany, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged Israel to allow aid into Gaza “without delay” and an immediate ceasefire, as well as the unconditional release of hostages held by Hamas.
“We are witnessing a humanitarian catastrophe,” Starmer said. He said a ceasefire could pave the way toward recognizing Palestinian statehood and a two-state solution.
Britain was one of 28 Western-aligned countries that called this week for an end to the war, the latest sign of Israel’s deepening isolation. Israel and the U.S. have rejected the criticism.
Ceasefire talks break down as Israel drives Gaza to the brink of famine, aid groups say
Amid Israel’s blockade and ongoing military offensive, the United Nations food agency says nearly 100,000 women and children are suffering from severe, acute malnutrition. The Gaza Health Ministry has reported a rise in hunger-related deaths.
Israel says it is allowing in enough aid and blames U.N. agencies for not distributing it. But those agencies say it is nearly impossible to safely deliver it because of Israeli restrictions and a breakdown of law and order, with crowds of thousands unloading food trucks as soon as they move into Gaza.
A separate Israeli-backed system run by an American contractor has also been marred by chaos. Witnesses, health officials and the U.N. human rights office say Israeli forces have repeatedly fired on crowds seeking aid, killing more than 1,000 people. Israel says its forces have only fired warning shots and that the death toll is exaggerated.
Israel faces mounting pressure to end Gaza’s humanitarian crisis
Twenty-eight Western-aligned countries recently called for an end to the war in Gaza and harshly criticizing Israel’s blockade and a new aid delivery model it has rolled out.
More than 100 charity and human rights groups released a similar letter, saying that even their own staff are struggling to get enough food.
The U.S. and Israel rejected the allegations and blamed Hamas for prolonging the war by not accepting their terms for a ceasefire.
Israel-Hamas truce has eluded Trump administration for months
The sides have held weeks of talks in Qatar, reporting small signs of progress but no major breakthroughs.
“While the mediators have made a great effort, Hamas does not appear to be coordinated or acting in good faith,” Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff said in a statement. “We will now consider alternative options to bring the hostages home and try to create a more stable environment for the people of Gaza.”
It was unclear what “alternative options” the U.S. was considering. The White House had no immediate comment, and the State Department did not immediately respond to messages.
Where do gaps remain in Gaza ceasefire talks?
Negotiations have been bogged down over competing demands for ending the war. Hamas says it will only release all hostages in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal and end to the war. Israel says it will not agree to end the war until Hamas gives up power and disarms -- a condition the militant group rejects.
The U.S. plan called for an initial 60-day ceasefire and a partial, phased hostage release. The two sides were to launch further negotiations on a lasting ceasefire.
Hamas is believed to be holding the hostages in different locations, including tunnels, and says it has ordered its guards to kill them if Israeli forces approach.
Trump’s envoy says ceasefire talks are getting cut short
President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said Thursday the U.S. is cutting short Gaza ceasefire talks and bringing home its negotiating team from Qatar for consultations, after the latest response from Hamas “shows a lack of desire to reach a ceasefire in Gaza.”
The breakdown comes just hours after an Israeli official called the latest Hamas proposal “workable,” although no details were provided. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record.
Netanyahu warns Hamas against mistaking ceasefire talks for weakness
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that his government is working toward a new agreement to free hostages held in Gaza.
“But if Hamas perceives our willingness to reach a deal as a weakness, as an opportunity to dictate lines of defeat that will endanger Israel, it is greatly mistaken,” Netanyahu said.
He spoke at a ceremony commemorating the death anniversary of Zeev Jabotinsky. Considered the spiritual father of the Israeli right, Jabotinsky worked closely with Netanyahu’s father on promoting Zionism in the U.S.
Gaza women describe humiliating and fruitless attempt to get aid at US-run hub
The 10 women told The Associated Press that they waited for hours at the U.S.-run aid site as American contractors told them to move from place to place.
The women said contractors fired pepper spray at the crowds and that in the end they didn’t receive any aid.
“They terrified us in ways unimaginable,” said Azza Abu Taha, a mother looking after six family members. “I just want a bag of flour for me and my children.”
Umm Ibrahim Anshasi said she arrived at 9 a.m. as instructed. “They tell you to wait, then they tell you go out,” she said. “We came just to be insulted.”
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation acknowledged that a “limited amount of aid” was distributed at the site where the pepper spray was used. It said that “overall, the effort was a major success.”
Palestinian killed near Gaza aid site on women-only day, health officials say
Ten women who were at the site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an Israeli-backed American contractor, described a chaotic scene on Thursday and said they eventually left without any aid.
The foundation said its contractors used a “limited amount of pepper spray” to control crowds and prevent injuries, and did not fire any shots.
Some of the women said sound grenades were fired and others heard gunshots. They said Israeli forces were operating nearby. There was no immediate comment from the military.
Khadija al-Qahouji, 37, was shot in the head near the aid site and died, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the body. It did not have further details.
More than 1,000 people have been killed by Israeli forces while approaching the GHF sites since they opened in May, according to witnesses, local health officials and the United Nations human rights office.
The Israeli military says it has only fired warning shots, and GHF says its contractors have only occasionally used pepper spray or fired into the air to prevent stampedes.
Celebrity chef from Israel condemns ‘famine’ in Gaza
The level of hunger in Gaza is “shocking beyond belief,” said Yotam Ottolenghi, a Jerusalem-born British chef and bestselling author.
In a post on social media, Ottolenghi said he's adding his voice to global calls for Israel to halt its attacks on Gaza and let aid enter without restriction.
“The sequence of events leading to this moment – with victims on both sides – cannot justify withholding food from a whole population,” he said. “This goes against any value I was raised on.”
Ottolenghi wrote a book with Palestinian Sami Tamimi called “Jerusalem,” covering Arab and Jewish cooking in the holy city.
Netanyahu recalls ceasefire negotiators back to Israel
Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu’s office recalled the negotiating team back to Israel in light of Hamas’ response Thursday morning.
In a brief statement, the prime minister's office expressed its appreciation for the efforts of U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and mediators Qatar and Egypt, but gave no further details.
Earlier Thursday, Israel said Hamas’ latest response was “workable.”
‘Growing optimism’ that Israel and Hamas are closing in on a deal, official says
An official with knowledge of the Gaza ceasefire talks said Hamas had submitted a “positive response” through Qatari mediators.
“The Hamas response has now been passed to the Israeli side, and there is growing optimism that the gaps are narrowing and a deal can be reached,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the behind-the-scenes talks.
The official said senior officials from the U.S. and Qatar were set to meet in Italy later Thursday to discuss the progress. There were no further details.
— By Josef Federman in Jerusalem
More than 40 Palestinians died from malnutrition in July, Gaza's Health Ministry says
Gaza’s Health Ministry said 48 Palestinians have died of malnutrition this past month, adding that 59 Palestinians died of malnutrition so far in 2025, up from 50 in 2024, and four in 2023 when Israel started its war against the Hamas militant group in Gaza after its rampage in southern Israel on Oct. 7.
In the most recent cases, a man and a woman died of malnutrition Wednesday, the Shifa Hospital told The Associated Press.
Of the 113 that died of malnutrition in Gaza since 2023, 81 were children, Gaza’s Health Ministry said.
Since Israel’s aid blockade in March, Gaza’s humanitarian situation has become dire, alarming international organizations. The United Nations World Food Program has said 100,000 women and children are facing famine levels of starvation.
The International Rescue Community said their teams in Gaza have reported a surge in cases of children being rushed to the hospital due to malnutrition.
“Their small bodies are shutting down — they can’t breathe, their immune systems are collapsing, and they are highly vulnerable to infection,” IRC’s acting director in the occupied Palestinian Territories, Scott Lea, said in a statement Wednesday.
“Their lives are hanging by a thread.”
Rocket landed near Gaza aid site, Israel says
Israel’s military said militants had fired a rocket that landed close to an aid distribution site in southern Gaza.
In a statement Thursday, the military said militants in the city of Khan Younis had fired a rocket that landed 250 meters (820 feet) from an aid site in Rafah. The military did not say if the rocket strike injured anyone.
The aid site is run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an Israeli-backed American organization distributing aid in Gaza which launched operations in May.
The U.S. and Israel seek to replace the traditional U.N.-led aid distribution system in Gaza, asserting that Hamas militants siphon off supplies. The U.N. denies the allegation.
Indonesia condemns Israeli motion to annex the occupied West Bank
Indonesia has strongly condemned the Israeli Parliament’s symbolic motion to annex the occupied West Bank.
In a statement Thursday by Indonesia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country reiterated that Israel has no legitimate sovereignty over occupied Palestinian territory and that such actions do not alter the legal status of the territory.
“This move constitutes an act of annexation, violating the fundamental principle of non-acquisition of territory by force,” the statement said.
“We reaffirm our support for the establishment and sovereign State of Palestine within the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with the Two-State Solution.”
The declarative motion, passed Wednesday by the Israeli Parliament, or Knesset, has no direct legal implications, although it could place the issue of annexation on the agenda of future debates.
The Southeast Asian nation urged the United Nations Security Council and the international community to take concrete measures to halt what it termed Israel’s illegal actions, saying it aims to make its illegal occupation of Palestinian territory permanent.
Israeli military says 8 soldiers wounded in ramming attack
Eight Israeli soldiers were wounded Thursday when a car rammed into a bus stop near the central coastal city of Netanya, the military said. The driver fled the scene, prompting a police manhunt.
Two soldiers were moderately wounded and another six were lightly wounded in the attack. The military did not identify the attacker or provide further details.
Palestinian militants have carried out scores of shooting, stabbing and car-ramming attacks since the outbreak of the war in the Gaza Strip. Israel has launched major military operations in the occupied West Bank, and there has been a spike in settler violence against Palestinians there.
5 Palestinians killed in central Gaza
At least five Palestinians were killed in central Gaza late Wednesday, according to the Aqsa Hospital morgue that received the bodies Thursday in the city of Deir al-Balah.
Two people, a man and a woman, were killed east of the city in Israeli tank shelling.
Another person was killed by Israeli troops in a shooting in the Bureij refugee camp, and two others were among a group of people hit by an Israeli strike in Zawaida.
The Israeli military, which has expanded operations in the area in the last few days, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Major media say their journalists in Gaza are ‘increasingly unable to feed themselves’
Four leading news organizations said Thursday their journalists in Gaza are facing the threat of starvation as the Israel-Hamas war grinds on.
“We are desperately concerned for our journalists in Gaza, who are increasingly unable to feed themselves and their families,” said a joint statement by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, Reuters and the BBC. “For many months, these independent journalists have been the world’s eyes and ears on the ground in Gaza. They are now facing the same dire circumstances as those they are covering.”
The statement called on Israel to allow journalists in and out of Gaza and allow adequate food supplies into the territory.
Israel has barred international media from entering Gaza independently throughout the 21-month war.
The deal on the table
Top U.S. Envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to head to Italy on Thursday to meet top Israeli negotiator Ron Dermer and discuss the ceasefire deal on the table, according to Israeli and U.S. officials.
For Israel, sending Dermer — a close Netanyahu confidant — to the meeting marks a show of seriousness in reaching a deal.
The deal under discussion is expected to include a 60-day ceasefire in which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and the remains of 18 others in phases in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Aid supplies would be ramped up and the two sides would hold negotiations on a lasting truce.
Hamas earlier Thursday submitted a response to the latest ceasefire proposal which an Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media, billed as “workable.”
American Jewish groups demand an investigation into Israeli settler violence
Prominent religious Jewish leaders in the United States are calling on Israel to investigate a surge of settler violence against Palestinians and the recent killing of an American citizen by Israeli settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
In a statement released Wednesday, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the Union for Reform Judaism and the American Conference of Cantors said Israel must undertake a “full investigation” into the death of Sayfollah Musallet, a Palestinian-American from Tampa, Florida. Palestinian authorities say Musallet was beaten to death by Israeli settlers while visiting family in the West Bank.
Violence has spiraled in the occupied West Bank since the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, with at least 955 Palestinians killed there by Israeli fire, according to the United Nations.
The rabbis said Israel must also investigate the “growing phenomenon” of settler violence overall. They wrote that the far-right government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “seems to tolerate and even encourage violence against Palestinians.”
Israeli official says Hamas’ latest proposal is workable
An Israeli official familiar with ceasefire talks said a Hamas proposal was “workable” and that Israel was studying it. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on record.
Hamas confirmed sending a response to mediators in an statement early Thursday.
Israel said that it was reviewing Hamas’ response to the latest ceasefire proposal to potentially wind down the war. A statement from the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed receipt of the Hamas response Thursday but did not specify what it entailed.
— By Julia Frankel in Jerusalem
Israeli fire kills two teens in the occupied West Bank
Palestinian health officials said Thursday that two Palestinian teenage boys were killed by Israeli fire Wednesday night in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Israel’s military said its forces had fired at Palestinians throwing Molotov cocktails toward a highway, killing two near the West Bank town of Al-Khader.
Palestinian health officials named the teens killed as Ahmed Al-Salah, 15, and Mohammed Khaled Alian Issa, 17.
Violence has spiraled in the occupied West Bank since the war that began with Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel. Over 955 Palestinians have been killed there by Israeli fire during that time, according to the United Nations, many during raids Israel says are to stamp out militancy.
