On Christmas Day, we wrote about the latest round in negotiations to end the Israel-Hamas war, with a proposal brokered by Egypt getting the cold shoulder by the terror group.

SEE MORE: Hamas Rejects Egyptian Proposal for Ceasefire, and Now It's Time to Finish Them

Then on Friday came word that Israel had taken out 11 senior Iranian commanders with an airstrike at the Damascus airport, after killing one of Iran's generals in Syria last Monday.

SEE MORE: Report: Israel Follows Up Killing of Senior Iranian Commander in Syria, Dispatches 11 More in Damascus

We wrote in late November about the first ceasefire and exchange of hostages for prisoners. Now, there's a new report out of Qatar that the terror group Hamas "agrees in principle" to return to the negotiation table on another exchange of hostages and a ceasefire with Israel:

Qatari mediators have told Israel that Hamas “agrees in principle” to resume negotiations for the release of further hostages taken by the terror group during the October 7 atrocities, in exchange for a weeks-long truce in the Gaza Strip, the Walla news site reports.[...]

According to the report, the talks remained centered on a proposal presented by Mossad chief David Barnea that would include the release of some 40 hostages, including women still held by Hamas, men over 60 and those with serious medical issues. In return for the hostages, Israel would halt military operations in Gaza for a week or two and release a numer [sic] of Palestinian security prisoners.

Some Israeli officials are reportedly wary of just how "serious" Hamas is here:

Citing three Israeli officials, the report says Israel is responding warily to the message and stressing that it will quickly emerge whether Hamas is indeed serious.[...]

One of the Israeli officials says the Qatari message is very preliminary but describes it as a positive development.

“We move from a freeze to a situation that is very cold,” the official is quoted as saying.

Another official says Israel has yet to receive a concrete offer from Qatar and is waiting for further details, adding, “in any case the gaps remain large.”

They're right to be wary, for several good reasons. The primary reason is that Hamas has already shown it will break the promises it makes without a second thought. By attacking Israel on Oct. 7th, it broke the existing truce. Whatever the truth happens to be about where the talks stand, the U.S. continues to support Israel--with a new infusion of weapons and equipment approved by the State Department on Friday: 

The State Department said Friday that Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Congress he approved a $147.5 million sale for equipment, including fuses, charges and primers, that is needed for 155 mm shells Israel bought previously.

It marked the second time this month that the Biden administration is bypassing Congress to approve an emergency weapons sale to Israel. The department cited the “urgency of Israel’s defensive needs” as a reason for the approval.

But as readers well know, there's another solid reason to doubt Hamas' sincerity about actual negotiating; this came directly from a Hamas leader's mouth on Saturday:

A senior Hamas official told The Associated Press in Beirut that the group has not budged from its position that a permanent cease-fire has to be the starting point for any further releases of Israeli and foreign hostages the group holds, which runs counter to a recent proposal by Egypt for a staged end to the war.

Yeah, this isn't going to end anytime soon, not without an end to the terrorists' hold on Gaza.