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Israel, Hamas and the Trump administration have issued different messages about where efforts to reach a truce stand.
May 27, 2025Updated 10:28 a.m. ET
Israel, the United States and Hamas have sent conflicting messages in recent days about progress in cease-fire talks that would free hostages still held in Gaza, amid mounting pressure from President Trump to end the war.
As they press a renewed offensive, Israeli forces have continued to launch strikes across the enclave. More than 70 people were killed on Monday, according to the Gaza health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
The deadly strikes came amid a series of contradictory comments about negotiations.
On Monday, the Hamas-run Al-Aqsa television channel said that the group had accepted a cease-fire proposal from Steve Witkoff, Mr. Trump’s Middle East envoy.
Mr. Witkoff, however, quickly rejected that claim. “What I have seen from Hamas is disappointing and completely unacceptable,” he told the Axios news site.
Later that evening, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said he was hoping to announce progress in the talks “if not today, then tomorrow.” But he later suggested that he had been speaking figuratively, and blamed Hamas for the impasse.
On Tuesday, Basem Naim, a Hamas official, doubled down on the group’s claim. “Yes, the movement has accepted Mr. Witkoff’s proposal,” he wrote on social media, adding that Hamas was awaiting Israel’s response.
