Amid Gaza ruins, Palestinians anxiously watch Doha talks for ceasefire with cautious hope

Palestinians across the Gaza Strip are anxiously eyeing the latest round of indirect ceasefire talks between Hamas and Israel, which resumed Sunday in Doha under Qatari mediation with American and Egyptian involvement.

The negotiations aim to reach a long-term truce that could bring an end to nearly twenty-one months of war, destruction, and mass displacement.

The current round is based on a revised version of a previous American proposal submitted by US Special Envoy Steven Witkoff and amended by Qatar.

According to a Palestinian source familiar with the matter, the opening session focused on coordinating humanitarian aid delivery in the devastated enclave, where over two million people face catastrophic shortages of food, medicine, and basic services.

On Friday, Hamas announced it had responded "positively" to the latest initiative after internal consultations and discussions with other Palestinian factions.

In a press statement, Hamas announced its readiness to engage in immediate talks on implementing the proposed framework. The central tenets of the deal include a 60-day ceasefire, during which a prisoner exchange would take place: 10 living Israeli captives and 18 bodies would be released in return for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, with specifics to be finalised during negotiations.

Yet key obstacles remain. Hamas has requested amendments to the proposal's wording on three fronts: a full Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza, the reinstatement of UN-led aid distribution mechanisms.

It guarantees that talks for a permanent ceasefire would be completed during the truce window. Israel has officially rejected these conditions.

Despite this, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to dispatch a negotiating team to Doha, based on the original proposal as accepted by Tel Aviv, without the requested modifications.

The divergence in positions underscores the fragility of the process. For Palestinians on the ground, the outcome could mean the difference between life and further devastation.

In neighbourhoods flattened by Israeli bombardment, civilians continue to suffer and grieve, holding on to dwindling threads of hope that this round of talks will succeed where many have failed so far.

Between longing for peace and reliving loss

In the narrow alleys of Gaza's Shati refugee camp, Samir Saidam, a father of five, described his exhaustion after nearly two years of war.

"We are waiting, desperately, for the ceasefire to come through. We're tired of death, of displacement, of waking up to find everything gone. Israel used every means to kill us, even forbidden weapons," he told The New Arab.

But even in grief, there is yearning. "We want life to come back," Saidam added. "Our children deserve a future; a real one, not more of this."

In Al-Rimal, one of Gaza City's hardest-hit neighbourhoods, Omar Al-Ashqar sat on the debris of his former home. The Israeli army killed two of his sons. "This round of negotiations must be different. I haven't even found their graves. I just want to know where they are," he said.

In a makeshift shelter at a shuttered school in central Gaza, 75-year-old Abu Ibrahim Al-Masri held his orphaned grandson close. Displaced from Beit Hanoun, he lost his son, daughter-in-law, and two daughters in a single bombing.

"Enough," he said bitterly. "Everything is gone; the young, the old. There's nothing left. We want this child to live, not grow up among the ruins."

Umm Rami, originally from Beit Lahia, now works baking bread in a clay oven for fellow displaced families in Gaza City. Her voice trembled as she recalled losing her husband and daughter.

"I bake for others, but I can't afford flour for my own children. This is the bitterest of lives. I just want this war to end, to go home, to visit their graves, not dig new ones," she told TNA.

Their words, carried on the winds of loss and resilience, reflect the collective longing of a battered population for something as simple and as elusive as peace.

A tenuous path to a ceasefire

While the Qatari-led talks offer a potential breakthrough, the road to a lasting agreement is anything but straightforward.

Palestinian political analysts caution that Israel's refusal to fully endorse the demands, particularly around reconstruction, border crossings, and halting airstrikes, may render the negotiations hollow.

Nevertheless, Qatar's reassertion as a mediator, buoyed by coordination with Washington, has added fresh momentum.

The urgency is real: continued war could trigger not only a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza but a broader regional spillover.

Still, scepticism looms large. "Even if a truce is reached, it won't mean the war is over," Raed Al-Dabai, head of the political science department at An-Najah University, told TNA.

"Israel continues to resist any real concessions. Its leadership believes it has succeeded militarily in Lebanon, Iran, and Gaza. They want to cement control over the West Bank," he told TNA.

Al-Dabai sees the coming 60-day truce, if achieved, as a strategic window. "It's a chance to coordinate humanitarian aid, arrange a prisoner exchange, and start discussions on Gaza's post-war future — including reconstruction, governance, and international involvement," he said. "But whether it leads to anything depends on both parties and on strong, enforceable international guarantees."

Such guarantees, however, remain elusive. Political media professor Saeed Shaheen argues that Hamas's acceptance of the proposal stems less from strategic gain and more from the mounting pressure of civilian suffering.

"This is a war of ethnic cleansing," he said. "Hamas had no choice. But many parts of the agreement are vague, particularly on key issues like Israeli withdrawal and the opening of crossings."

Shaheen also pointed to the geopolitical calculations in Washington. "Trump, who called Hamas's response good, may try to present the ceasefire as a foreign policy win to strengthen his hand on Iran or Ukraine," he explained. "But unless the ceasefire includes serious Israeli commitments, it won't be the end."

Hussam al-Dajani, a Gaza-based political writer, echoed similar fears. "Israel may use the truce to regroup militarily, rescue hostages, and then resume its offensive—this time with new justifications," he said to TNA.

He accused Israel of "treating Palestinian blood as cheap" and warned that Arab states' weakness, coupled with unwavering Western support for Israel, could sabotage any progress.

He stressed that the core issues on the table are not cosmetic. "We're talking about the future of Gaza, the lives of prisoners, and the basic right of people to live. We can't afford another hollow agreement."

Despite the warnings, some experts believe the coming weeks could open a rare window of opportunity. If political will and international pressure align, the temporary truce could evolve into a broader peace process. But if old patterns repeat, and if the negotiations serve merely as a tactical pause rather than a genuine shift, the streets of Gaza may soon echo again with the sounds of war.

As Gaza waits, buried under loss and longing, the question remains: Will this be a turning point, or just another pause before the next chapter of devastation?