(TNND) — The ceasefire outlook in Gaza is cloudier after Israel and the U.S. pulled their negotiators and accused Hamas of showing “a lack of desire” to reach a deal.

“While the mediators have made a great effort, Hamas does not appear to be coordinated or acting in good faith,” U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff said in a statement via the State Department.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on X that Witkoff was right to pull U.S. negotiators and also accused Hamas of getting in the way of a deal.

“Together with our U.S. allies, we are now considering alternative options to bring our hostages home, end Hamas’s terror rule, and secure lasting peace for Israel and our region,” Netanyahu said in his statement.

President Donald Trump told reporters Friday morning that Hamas didn't want to make a deal.

“I think they want to die,” Trump said. “And it's very, very bad.”

Trump began July with an announcement that Israel agreed to the necessary conditions to finalize a 60-day ceasefire.

But talks this month haven’t borne fruit.

“Don't forget, we got a lot of hostages out. So, now we're down to the final hostages. And they know what happens after you get the final hostages. And, basically, because of that they really didn't want to make a deal,” Trump said Friday.

Hamas terrorists took about 250 hostages when they attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

More than a year and a half later, there are 50 hostages remaining in Hamas custody in Gaza. The majority of the remaining hostages are believed to be dead.

Raphael Cohen, an expert in foreign policy and military strategy at RAND, said he expects ceasefire talks to continue.

“The question is level of American involvement,” he said. “I think the Witkoff statement is sort of tantamount of sort of growing frustration of the inability to broker a deal and that talks were at an impasse, and therefore they're pulling back.”

A Hamas official reportedly said Friday that ceasefire talks will resume next week.

Cohen said Hamas appears willing to keep up dialogue at least with the Qataris and Egyptians who have served as intermediaries.

Gordon Gray, a former ambassador who now teaches at the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University, also expects ceasefire negotiations to continue.

“I think that the negotiations have a future, and the reason I say that is that there's considerable pressure from their respective constituencies on Prime Minister Netanyahu and on Hamas,” Gray said.

Netanyahu faces strong domestic pressure to strike a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages, Gray said.

He said there’s also a sentiment within some parts of the Israeli national security establishment that its military objectives have been achieved in Gaza.

Gray said Hamas is also feeling tremendous pressure from the Palestinian people inside Gaza to agree to a ceasefire that will allow humanitarian aid to flow more easily.

Even though both Cohen and Gray expected talks to continue, neither was abundantly confident that a ceasefire would actually be reached.

Cohen said that’s a coin flip at best.

Gray said the ceasefire parameters are pretty well-known at this point: 60 days to pause hostilities with an exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners, with the numbers of those to be determined.

Israel would also allow an increase in humanitarian assistance to Gaza.

“If you think the glass is half full, you could say yes, an agreement can be reached because ... the parameters I've described are well-known,” said Gray, who was ambassador to Tunisia from 2009 until 2012 and had 35 years of government service. “If you think the glass is half empty, you could say yes, they've been well-known for several months, and we still don't have an agreement.”

Cohen said Hamas wants an assurance that the war will end.

“And as you whittle down the number of hostages, the brinksmanship goes up in the sense that Hamas really wants an end to the war, with them retaining some sort of at least notional presence in Gaza, some sort of political control even if they give up military control,” he said. “And the Israelis, that's unacceptable to the Israelis.”

Gray said the fact that ceasefire talks haven’t broken down completely might be a sign that Hamas isn’t fully entrenched in its demand that Israel commit to ending the war.

Cohen said the alternative to a ceasefire, even one without guarantees of ending the war, is an increase in Israeli military pressure.

Hamas will need to decide which path it wants to go down.

French President Emmanuel Macron also declared Thursday that France will recognize the state of Palestine, to which both Netanyahu and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio pushed back.

Macron said he will officially announce France’s recognition of a Palestinian state in September at the United Nations General Assembly.

And the French president called for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, a surge of humanitarian aid, and the demilitarization of Hamas.

“The urgent priority today is to end the war in Gaza and to bring relief to the civilian population,” he said.

Neither Gray nor Cohen said Macron’s announcement would have an impact on the Gaza war.

“It's got some symbolic importance in that France is the first G7 country to do so,” Gray said. “But I think there are at least 140 other countries which have recognized Palestine as a state.”

Russia, China, India and Spain have all recognized a Palestinian state, Gray said.

“I don't see it as a game changer,” Gray said of Macron’s announcement. “I don't think it's going to affect things very significantly.”

Both Gray and Cohen said the U.S. is the only country that has enough sway to influence ceasefire talks.