Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly considering the annexation of territories in the Gaza Strip if the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas does not accept his temporary ceasefire deal, US-based ABC News reported Tuesday, citing unnamed sources familiar with the internal deliberations.

“Prime Minister Netanyahu is considering a plan to annex territories in Gaza if Hamas doesn’t agree to a ceasefire plan. This is one of several options,” a source told the network.

This comes amid renewed indirect ceasefire negotiations between the Israeli occupation and Hamas, which resumed in Doha on July 6. However, early rounds of the talks ended without any significant breakthrough, according to media reports.

US, "Israel" pull negotiators from talks

On July 24, both the United States and the Israeli occupation withdrew their negotiators from the Qatari capital, claiming that Hamas showed a “lack of desire” to reach a ceasefire agreement in the war-torn Gaza Strip.

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In response, Hamas rejected the accusations, expressing surprise at the characterization and reiterating its commitment to achieving a truce. The group emphasized that it was negotiating in good faith, and said the blame for delays lies with "Israel's" refusal to accept key humanitarian and security conditions.

Mediators claim progress despite impasse

Despite the diplomatic setback, mediating nations Egypt and Qatar released a joint statement on July 25, asserting that progress had been made during the most recent round of negotiations between Hamas and the Israeli occupation. However, no concrete steps or agreements were announced, leaving the status of the ceasefire plan uncertain.

The reported annexation plan has sparked alarm among observers, as it signals a potentially dramatic escalation in "Israel’s" long-standing occupation policies. Any move to formally annex parts of Gaza would likely be met with broad international condemnation and could undermine further attempts to reach a durable ceasefire.

Hamas surprised by Israeli withdrawal

Khalil al-Hayya, Deputy Head of Hamas in Gaza and a member of its political bureau, expressed the movement's surprise at the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation delegation from the indirect negotiations between the two parties.

Speaking on Sunday, al-Hayya stated, "This withdrawal came despite the progress achieved during the talks and Hamas’ broad acceptance of what the mediators had proposed." He added that the Resistance leadership had used "all its tools and relations over the past 22 months to bring an end to the aggression."

Al-Hayya emphasized that there could be "no meaning to the continuation of negotiations under genocide, starvation, and siege of Gaza’s children, women, and people."

Moreover, he rejected what he called the "absurd theatrics of airdropped aid operations," insisting that the suffering and blood of the Palestinian people should not become "a bargaining chip in the occupation's political games."