U.S., Israel bring negotiators home as talks with Hamas fail

U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff on Thursday said the United States’ team of negotiators would return home from Doha, Qatar, after talks with the Hamas terror organization failed to reach a ceasefire agreement. Hamas did not appear to be coordinated or acting in good faith, and its response to a U.S.-Israeli proposal showed a lack of desire to implement a ceasefire, Witkoff said. Mediators Qatar and Egypt made a great effort, he said.

Witkoff reiterated the United States’ commitment to permanent peace in Gaza, but said it was time to consider alternative ways of rescuing the remaining Israeli hostages and creating stability for the people of Gaza. He did not give further details on what alternatives the United States was considering.

The Israeli prime minister’s office earlier on Thursday said its negotiators were returning for consultations in Israel due to Hamas’ response. It did not give details on the content of the response, which the team received Thursday morning. The office thanked Qatar, Egypt, and Witkoff for their efforts.

What’s the status of Russia-Ukraine peace talks? The two countries successfully conducted a prisoner swap of seriously ill and wounded soldiers on Wednesday. Ukraine on Wednesday also proposed an immediate and full ceasefire to Russia during talks in Istanbul, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. But Russia struck Ukrainian cities with four missiles and 103 attack drones that night, killing three civilians, in what Zelenskyy characterized as a response to the ceasefire offer.

Ukraine also struck Russia that night. Russia’s foreign ministry said its defense systems downed 39 drones in the Krasnodar region and over the Black and Azov seas. Debris from a drone killed two women near Sochi in southern Russia, according to The Moscow Times.

Zelenskyy on Thursday also said he approved the text of a draft bill to strengthen Ukraine’s law enforcement system and restore the independence of anti-corruption agencies. The draft bill was an effort to correct one passed earlier this week, which brought the agencies under the control of the presidentially-appointed prosecutor general, according to the BBC. Thousands rallied against the passage of the law in the first large anti-government protests since the war began, the BBC reported.

Dig deeper: Read Christina Grube’s report on an international coalition’s statement calling for an end to the war in Gaza.