Over 23 months of war between Israel and Hamas, ceasefires have been in place for a total of only nine weeks.
The first ceasefire began in November 2023, but lasted only a week. A second ceasefire was not struck until January 2025, shortly before US President Donald Trump returned to the White House for a second term.
Under the planned second phase, Israel was supposed to agree to a permanent ceasefire. But Israel resumed its offensive on March 18, derailing the talks, saying it did so to pressure Hamas to release the remaining hostages.
A third ceasefire deal has since proved elusive, despite Trump saying for weeks that a new agreement is just one or two weeks away – but never materializing.
A deal seemed close in late July, when US special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Israeli officials in Sardinia, Italy. But after that meeting, the US abruptly pulled out of talks with Hamas in Qatar. Israel then ramped up its offensive in Gaza.
This weekend, the US proposed a new ceasefire framework. Trump said Israel had agreed to its terms and that it was “time for Hamas to accept as well.”
That proposal called for the immediate release of all hostages in Gaza and the start of negotiations for a comprehensive end to the war, according to two Israeli officials familiar with the discussions.
Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani, pressed Hamas to “respond positively” to this proposal in a meeting in Doha, according to an official familiar with that discussion.
Hamas was then due to respond Tuesday evening to the proposal, a diplomat briefed on the talks told CNN, before Israel’s strike on Doha.
CNN’s Becky Anderson contributed reporting.