Doha — In a scathing response to what it called “fabricated deflection tactics,” Hamas has categorically rejected the United States’ accusations that it is to blame for the collapse of ceasefire negotiations in Qatar. The Palestinian resistance movement said Washington is engaging in a deliberate campaign to shield Israel from responsibility as it carries out Genocide in Gaza, and thousands of civilians dead.
On Wednesday, US special envoy Steve Witkoff claimed Hamas had “no desire” to reach a ceasefire and that its response to the latest proposal in Doha talks was a “disappointment.” Following this, both the United States and Israel abruptly withdrew their negotiating teams, accusing Hamas of being obstructionist. But Palestinian officials immediately fired back, denouncing the move as “political theater” intended to reframe an American-backed Israeli war as a failed diplomatic process.
Hamas said it had submitted its final response to mediators after “deep and serious” internal consultations and reiterated that it remains fully committed to a ceasefire—but one that ends the war, not one that simply buys time for Israel to reload. The group’s leadership emphasized that their proposal addressed the core issues: a complete halt to Israeli aggression, withdrawal of Israeli forces, unimpeded humanitarian aid access, and a fair prisoner exchange.
What Hamas categorically rejected was the US-Israeli model of a “temporary truce” that would allow Israeli troops to regroup and re-invade parts of Gaza. The resistance movement insisted that Washington’s repeated framing of ceasefire terms as “humanitarian pauses” reflects an intent to Genocide in Gaza rather than stop it. It accused US officials of “manipulating negotiations” to provide diplomatic cover for war crimes and collective punishment of civilians.
The United States, which continues to supply Israel with weapons and veto UN Security Council resolutions demanding a ceasefire, has positioned itself not as a mediator but as a direct party to the conflict, critics say. Human rights organizations have documented widespread evidence of indiscriminate Israeli airstrikes on residential areas, schools, hospitals, and refugee camps—yet the Biden administration has refused to place conditions on its arms sales.
Inside Gaza, the reality is apocalyptic. The Gaza Health Ministry reported that over 59,676 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023, with thousands more missing or buried under debris. UNICEF and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) have described a catastrophic famine taking hold, with malnourishment among children reaching irreversible stages. Water and fuel shortages, blocked aid trucks, and Israeli targeting of bakeries and desalination plants have turned the enclave into what experts call “a laboratory of starvation warfare.”
In this context, Hamas argues that accusing it of “stalling” negotiations is a grotesque inversion of reality. The group said that Israeli demands—such as keeping Israeli army in Gaza during the truce period and refusing to release Palestinian prisoners—made a genuine ceasefire impossible. Yet the US continues to echo these positions while condemning the victims.
Moreover, the group noted that Qatari and Egyptian mediators had not expressed any dissatisfaction with Hamas’s response. On the contrary, reports from regional outlets suggest mediators were encouraged by the group’s willingness to move forward, albeit with demands consistent with international law. In contrast, Israel reportedly refused to guarantee a permanent cessation of hostilities, rendering the so-called “deal” little more than a temporary pause in bombing.
Diplomats in Doha have said the talks were close to a breakthrough until Israeli officials unilaterally raised new preconditions, including more rigid demands on hostage release sequences and continued attacks in Rafah. Yet these Israeli moves went unchallenged by Washington, whose delegation withdrew only after Tel Aviv did.
Observers note that Washington’s narrative discipline with Israel borders on complicity. US officials have avoided mentioning the Israeli blockade, the Brutally killings of UN aid workers, or the use of starvation as a tool of war. Instead, blame is funneled exclusively toward Hamas, regardless of mounting evidence that Israel has refused nearly every opportunity for a negotiated end to the genocide in Gaza.
As reported by Mehr News Agency, Hamas issued a statement declaring it “rejected and condemned” the US narrative, stating that its proposal was fully in line with prior discussions and mediated suggestions. “The US administration’s biased statements are aimed at exonerating the occupying regime and shifting blame onto the victim,” the group said. “This is not diplomacy. This is active participation in a war of extermination.”
