Nearly a week after the first stage of Israel and Hamas’s cease-fire expired, both Palestinians and Israelis are in limbo, uncertain how long the truce will hold.
The Trump administration, the Arab world, Israel, Hamas and others are now wrangling over the future of the Gaza Strip in a complex series of negotiations — some of which are unfolding along different channels, adding to the confusion.
Here’s a look at the state of the cease-fire talks and who is involved.
Israel and Hamas are negotiating through mediators.
In mid-January, after 15 months of devastating war, Israel and Hamas agreed to a truce that would free hostages held in Gaza since the Hamas-led October 2023 attack on southern Israel in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
But the agreement did not end the war. Instead, the two sides committed to a complex, multiphase plan meant to build momentum toward a comprehensive cease-fire. They were supposed to negotiate terms for the full truce during the first stage, which lasted six weeks.
Last weekend, the six weeks elapsed with little apparent success toward that goal, despite efforts by Qatar and Egypt, who have been mediating the talks. (Israel and Hamas do not negotiate directly.)
Then, Israel mostly closed the crossings into the Gaza Strip, stopping aid from entering to reach Palestinians who are still struggling to recover from a year of hunger and destruction. Qatar condemned the move as a violation of the cease-fire agreement, which stipulates that 600 trucks bearing food, fuel and other goods must enter Gaza on a daily basis.
The Trump administration has sent mixed signals on the next steps. Officials have said that they hope to reach the second, comprehensive phase of the cease-fire.
The U.S. and Israel are talking about a different path.
For Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, agreeing to pause the fighting has been the easy part. He has been far more reluctant to declare an end to Israel’s war against Hamas while the group remains firmly entrenched in Gaza.
As the first phase of the cease-fire expired, Mr. Netanyahu said that Israel had accepted a new proposal pitched by Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s Middle East envoy. That plan breaks significantly with the truce signed in mid-January.
Under the new proposal, Israel would immediately get half of the remaining hostages back in exchange for another 50 days of a “temporary cease-fire.” During that time, Israel and Hamas would continue talks over a permanent end to the war.
The remaining hostages would be released “if we reach an agreement on a permanent cease-fire,” Mr. Netanyahu said.
Mr. Witkoff’s proposal would effectively allow Israel to get more hostages back without giving Hamas any of its core demands. The Palestinian armed group has called on Israel and the United States to carry out the January deal as written, appearing to rule out the deal as a non-starter.
But at the same time, Mr. Trump has issued proposals that have rattled the region, including urging the permanent displacement of Gaza’s Palestinian residents and a U.S.-led takeover of the territory. He has also issued ultimatums to Hamas to return all of the hostages immediately, a demand that contradicts the staggered releases prescribed by the cease-fire agreement.
On Wednesday, Mr. Trump issued a “last warning” to Hamas on social media, calling on the armed group to immediately return the remaining hostages “or it is OVER for you.”
“I am sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job, not a single Hamas member will be safe if you don’t do as I say,” Mr. Trump wrote.
Hamas said that Mr. Trump’s threats were encouraging Israel to avoid negotiating an end to the war. “The language of threats does not intimidate us; it only complicates matters further,” Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas official, said in a statement posted on a Hamas-affiliated Telegram channel.
The Trump administration is also talking to Hamas.
Over the past week, Mr. Trump’s administration held intensive and secret direct meetings with Hamas aimed at securing the release of American citizens seized during the October 2023 attack.
The meetings leapfrogged the seemingly moribund cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas. They also broke with the longstanding U.S. approach toward Hamas, which sought to isolate the Palestinian armed group through a “no-contact” policy.
Critics had long argued that not engaging with Hamas over the years had produced few tangible results. In practice, the United States wound up dealing with the group anyway, typically through mediators like Qatar and Egypt.
Adam Boehler, Mr. Trump’s nominee to be a special envoy for hostage affairs, met Hamas officials in Doha, Qatar, this week, according to a diplomat familiar with the talks.
The negotiations focused on freeing Edan Alexander, the only American Israeli hostage still believed to be alive, and the bodies of four other U.S.-Israeli dual citizens who were kidnapped and taken to Gaza in the October 2023 attack, officials told The New York Times.
One of those is Itay Chen, 19, an American-Israeli soldier. The Israeli military said last year that he was presumed killed during the Hamas-led attack, although his family has expressed hope that he could still be alive.
“If Israel’s government isn’t able to free Itay,” Ruby Chen, his father, said after news of the direct talks with Hamas broke, “then it’s reasonable for the United States to try and do so.”
Adam Rasgon and Ronen Bergman contributed reporting.
