Israel recalled the delegation from Doha due to Hamas' rejection of the Witkoff plan

Israel is withdrawing a senior negotiating team from Doha due to the refusal of the Palestinian Hamas movement to accept the plan of US President Steve Witkoff's special envoy for the release of hostages. This was reported on May 20 in the press service of the office of the head of the government of the country.

They noted that the Israeli side agreed to Witkoff's proposal, but Hamas continues to adhere to its refusal.

"After about a week of intensive contacts in Doha, the senior negotiating team will return to Israel for consultations, and at this stage, the working levels will remain in Doha," the Prime Minister's office said in a statement.

According to Dmitry Gendelman, an adviser to the Israeli Prime Minister's office, the US proposal is based on reasonable principles, and Hamas continues to reject any efforts by the international community for a peaceful settlement.

"If Hamas chooses to continue procrastinating and deceiving, Israel will act. The path to a ceasefire is through the release of all hostages and the destruction of the military infrastructure of terror," he wrote on his Telegram channel.

Pressure point: Israel to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza as part of its operation

The IDF has stepped up operations around the entire perimeter of the exclave — during one of the strikes, the head of the military wing of Hamas was killed.

Earlier in the day, Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani said that the Doha negotiations on the settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict had not led to a rapprochement between the parties on key issues.

Prior to that, on May 18, Witkoff proposed to the Israeli administration and Hamas a new cease-fire deal in the Gaza Strip, which provides for the release of ten Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and 45-60 days of ceasefire.