A senior Israeli official has revealed that Saudi Arabia, which had backed Israeli positions and stressed the dismantling of Hamas as a core condition, has scaled back its involvement in talks over Gaza's future. At the same time, Israel now finds itself facing a coalition of Turkey, Qatar and Egypt, all of which are working in various ways to keep Hamas politically relevant.
Qatar wants guarantees that Israel will uphold its side of the peace deal before investing in reconstruction, Bloomberg learned. The UAE demands Hamas' full disarmament and exclusion from future governance in Gaza, plus a PA overhaul.
The US president warned that Hamas must return the deceased hostages within 48 hours, including those of two American citizens.
Under pressure from the United States, Israel’s political leadership has allowed a foreign force to enter Gaza and assist in the recovery of hostages.
Since US President Donald Trump’s visit to Israel, a series of senior American officials have arrived in the country to bolster the ceasefire deal. The US monitoring operation, established with the support of the IDF, began amid renewed violence in Gaza and ongoing tensions surrounding the exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian terrorists.
Following Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s remark that if Saudi Arabia conditions normalization with Israel on the establishment of a Palestinian state, then they can "keep riding camels in the desert,” a senior Saudi source responded: “The ignorant minister’s words reflect the character of the current Israeli government.”
Azerbaijan and Indonesia are expected to form the core of the International Stabilization Force (ISF) to be deployed in Gaza. The force is anticipated to comprise tens of thousands of troops. Their participation comes after Israel vetoed the inclusion of Turkish soldiers in the multinational force, as previously revealed by Israel Hayom.
The criticism from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates was conveyed to Washington, which is now trying to persuade them that its move toward Qatar does not come at their expense. Israel Hayom has learned that during Kushner and Witkoff’s visit, messages from Israel were delivered to the Gulf states.
A diplomatic source familiar with the negotiations said there has been significant progress with the terrorist organization, but emphasized that the process would be lengthy and complex, and that Israel would need to exercise considerable patience.
PM harbors strong reservations on the plan to include Turkey in international stabilization force in Strip, due to Ankara's Muslim Brotherhood links and regional influence. Netanyahu also seeks to prevent Turkish companies participating in the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.
