The United States and key mediators Egypt and Qatar are intensifying efforts to push Israel and Hamas toward a ceasefire deal to end 10 months of fighting sparked by a Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Hamas, which the US considers a terror group, has signaled that it will not attend the latest round of talks scheduled to take place in the Qatari capital Doha on Thursday (15/8).
“We expect to be told by the mediators that Israel has accepted what was offered, and any meeting should be based on talking about implementation mechanisms and setting deadlines rather than negotiating something new,” Hamas political official Osama Hamdan said.
The White House is confident that the talks will take place.
“There's always political posturing. We always look at this before negotiations, and it's nothing new,” White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said at a press conference on Wednesday (8/14).
However, President Joe Biden acknowledged that peace is elusive.
“It is getting more difficult,” he told reporters on Tuesday (8/13) when asked whether a ceasefire and hostage release deal was becoming impossible.
“We’ll see what Iran does, and we’ll see what happens if there’s an attack,” he added. “But I’m not going to give up.”
Fear of escalation
Achieving a cease-fire in Gaza is key to containing Tehran's attacks on Israel in retaliation for the recent assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iranian territory. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the killing but is widely suspected of being responsible for Haniyeh's death.
Biden said he expected Iran to delay its attacks if a deal was reached in the next few days.
With fighting between Israel and Hamas continuing to rage in Gaza and escalating exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, many fear a major Iranian attack could spark a wider conflict in the Middle East.
“There is no more time to waste, and no legitimate excuse from any side for further delay,” U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein said in Beirut on Wednesday. “The deal will also help make possible a diplomatic resolution in Lebanon, and it will prevent the outbreak of a wider war,” Hochstein added.
Other officials are also involved in intensive diplomacy this week. White House Middle East coordinator Brett McGurk will travel to Cairo and Doha, and CIA Director William Burns will also travel to Doha.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has postponed his departure for the region, originally scheduled for Tuesday.
To increase deterrence, the US has deployed additional military assets to the Middle East, including squadrons of F-35C and F-22 Raptor fighter jets, the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, and the submarine USS Georgia. (ab/lt)
