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Welcome to The Logoff: The Trump administration is stepping back from ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas, even as a rapidly worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza adds to the urgency of reaching an agreement.
What’s the latest? The latest round of talks was cut short on Thursday after US and Israeli negotiating teams were recalled from Doha, Qatar. On Friday, President Donald Trump told reporters that “Hamas didn’t really want to make a deal” and would be “hunted down.”
What are the sticking points? The specifics are unclear, but US envoy Steve Witkoff accused Hamas of not “acting in good faith” in negotiations. Previously, Hamas’s desire for assurances about a permanent end to the conflict has been an issue for Israel.
How have earlier negotiations gone? In January, shortly before Trump took office, Israel and Hamas agreed to a temporary ceasefire, which included the release of Israeli hostages and an increase in humanitarian aid to Gaza. The deal unraveled two months later, in March, and conditions in Gaza have only grown worse since then.
What’s happening in Gaza right now? Gaza is home to more than 2 million Palestinians living in the most dire circumstances imaginable; the World Food Program said this week that a third of the population has been unable to eat for multiple days in a row, and children are dying of starvation. More than 1,000 Palestinians have also been killed by Israeli troops while attempting to access food aid in recent months, according to the UN.
What’s the big picture? If the Trump administration so chose, there’s almost certainly more the US could do to incentivize Israel to reach a ceasefire deal, or at least allow more aid to be distributed in a way that doesn’t further endanger Palestinian lives. But the collapse of negotiations this week suggests no such effort is coming, even as Gaza totters on the brink of famine.
And with that, it’s time to log off…
Hi readers — this was a bleak way to end the week, and it can be hard to know what to put here that doesn’t feel grossly inadequate. But let’s end with some straightforwardly good (and fluffy) conservation news.
The Chester Zoo in the UK announced the birth of a snow leopard cub this month, good news for the vulnerable (but as of 2017, no longer endangered) species. The cub doesn’t yet have a name, but you can see video of it with its parents here. That’s all for now — I hope you have a restful weekend and we’ll see you back here on Monday.
