Negotiations aimed at advancing the US president's plan Donald Trump Talks to end the war in the Gaza Strip were suspended last week after the outbreak of a wider conflict in the Middle East involving Iran, according to three sources with direct knowledge of the discussions.
According to these sources, the talks were interrupted when the United States and Israel launched joint strikes against Iran on February 28, opening a new phase of regional confrontation. This military escalation immediately froze the diplomatic discussions taking place behind the scenes between Israel, Hamas, and American mediators.
The American initiative was one of Donald Trump's major foreign policy projects in the Middle East. It was based in particular on the idea that Hamas fighters would agree to lay down their arms in exchange for a form of amnesty, which was intended to allow the reconstruction of Gaza to begin and pave the way for further Israeli military withdrawals.
White House officials had been conducting indirect and discreet contacts between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement to explore the conditions for disarmament. But the outbreak of the conflict with Iran abruptly halted these sensitive discussions, according to the three sources cited, who requested anonymity due to the confidential nature of the negotiations.
This suspension of talks comes less than a month after Donald Trump secured billions of dollars in financial commitments from Gulf Arab states to participate in the reconstruction of Gaza. These states now find themselves under pressure in the face of Iranian attacks and the escalating conflict in the region.
When questioned about this situation, a White House official nevertheless disputed the idea of a halt to the discussions, stating that diplomatic contacts around the plan for Gaza were continuing and remained "ongoing".
On the ground, the fighting continues. Israel continues its strikes in the Gaza Strip while Hamas fighters carry out attacks and ambushes against Israeli forces, in a conflict that has now lasted for almost two years.
