Israeli delegation refuses return of displaced Palestinians to north Gaza

The Israeli delegation in Qatar refused to withdraw army forces from Gaza and repatriate displaced Palestinians to their homes in northern Gaza “without conditions,” an Israeli media outlet reported.

Private Israeli Channel 12 indicated that the delegation would return to Israel on Saturday evening.

It clarified that the return of delegation members to Israel might indicate a lack of progress in talks.

During discussions in Doha, the delegation stipulated that in the first stage of an exchange deal, 40 hostages from all categories should be released alive, according to the channel.

Israel proposed a limited return of 2,000 displaced Palestinians daily to northern Gaza, two weeks after a ceasefire would start.

The channel noted the rejection by the delegation, led by Mossad chief David Barnea, of a request by Hamas to release 30 Palestinian prisoners sentenced to life, in exchange for every female soldier. The delegation offered five in return for their release.

'Without a hefty price'

According to Channel 12, as part of talks in the Qatari capital, Israel demanded the return of the bodies of Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, who were captured in Gaza in 2014, in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners who were released in a deal in 2011 for captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit and were re-arrested.

Israel holds in its prisons at least 9,100 Palestinians, according to Palestinian official sources, while the number of Israeli hostages held in Gaza remains unclear due to Hamas' refusal to disclose the figure “without a hefty price.”

While Israeli media speaks of between 240 and 253 Israeli hostages, including three who were released by Israel and 105 who were released by Hamas during an exchange deal last November, the resistance movement speaks of the killing of 70 others due to Israeli shelling.​​​​​​​

Israel has launched a deadly military offensive on Gaza since an October 7 operation by Hamas which Tel Aviv said killed less than 1,200 people.

More than 32,100 Palestinians have since been killed and over 72,400 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on Gaza, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war has pushed 85 percent of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60 percent of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.