US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the Gaza war was put on hold ever since the US and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran on 28 February, sources told Reuters on Monday.
They said negotiations on disarmament of Palestinian militant group Hamas and other issues were paused when the Iran war began on 28 February.
Among other demands, Trump and Israel want Hamas in Gaza to give up arms in order to end the conflict in the region — a demand which the militant group has refused to accept.
“Hamas must IMMEDIATELY honour its commitments, including the return of the final body to Israel, and proceed without delay to full demilitarisation,” Trump wrote on Truth Social earlier this year. “As I have said before, they can do this the easy way, or the hard way,” he had stated.
Reuters reported that Trump’s Gaza plan has hinged in part on whether Hamas militants would lay down their arms in exchange for amnesty. This is one step intended to pave the way for reconstruction and further Israeli military withdrawals.
White House mediators have been backchanneling between Israel and Hamas on the disarmament question.
The pause in Gaza talks threatens to stall implementation of Trump’s flagship Middle East peace initiative.
The report comes less than a month after Trump secured billions of dollars in pledges for Gaza from Gulf Arab states – countries that are now facing Iranian attacks as the conflict widens.
Hamas confirms pause to talks on Trump plan
A Hamas official reportedly confirmed that talks on Trump’s Gaza plan had been frozen for now, but declined to elaborate. Israel’s government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The White House did not immediately provide a comment.
One of Reuters‘ sources, who has direct knowledge of work by Trump’s Board of Peace mission, described the pause as a brief, minor delay caused by flight disruptions, preventing mediators and representatives from travelling around the region.
Talks have frequently been held in Cairo.
Over the longer term, the Board of Peace believes the war could accelerate a resolution of the disarmament issue by removing Iranian influence, which has long supported Hamas financially, the source said.
Another source — a Palestinian official close to the mediation effort — said Hamas had been expected to hold talks with Egyptian, Qatari and Turkish mediators on the day the war erupted, but the meeting was scrapped and no new date has been set.
Israel’s military has eased off strikes in Gaza since the start of the war, but, citing Hamas threats, has not ceased attacks, as Israeli jets carry out bombing campaigns in Iran and Lebanon. At least 16 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since 28 February, health officials say.
“The moment the war on Iran is over, [Israel] will come back at us with the same frequency, with the same violence,” said Talal Hamouda, 46, who lives in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, with his wife and five children.
Hamas, for its part, has continued to reassert its grip in areas under its control in Gaza since the war began. Sources close to the group say Hamas fighters in recent days ambushed several Israeli-backed militia members in Gaza’s north and south, killing at least two people.
