International mediators working on a ceasefire and hostage release agreement between Israel and Hamas announced Friday (8/16) that they had submitted a “bridging proposal” to both sides.
The proposal builds on previous agreements and closes existing gaps to allow for swift implementation of the plan.
After concluding a two-day meeting in Doha, mediators from the United States (US), Egypt and Qatar issued a joint statement, saying their talks were intensive, serious, constructive and conducted in a positive atmosphere.
They said the working group would meet again next week to discuss details of implementing the proposal, including arrangements for the release of all hostages and detainees and humanitarian provisions.
The statement said senior officials from the mediators' governments would reconvene in Cairo before the end of next week to conclude a deal based on the terms put forward on Friday.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Israel on Saturday (Aug. 17) to “continue intensive diplomatic efforts” to reach a ceasefire deal, State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said.
A senior Biden administration official said the latest negotiations in Doha were the most productive in months.
The official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity, said mediators were preparing to implement a possible deal but did not provide further details.
“It is the consensus of all the participants here over the last 48 hours that there is indeed a renewed enthusiasm here to reach a conclusion,” the official said.
President Joe Biden also expressed optimism about the progress of the negotiations.
“I spoke separately with Amir Sheikh Tamim (of Qatar) and President (Abdel Fattah el-) Sissi (of Egypt) to review the significant progress made in Doha over the past two days of talks, and they expressed strong support for Qatar and Egypt’s proposed role as a U.S. co-mediator in this process,” Biden said in a statement.
Biden said the negotiating team would remain in Doha and continue to work.
Gerald Feierstein, director of the Arabian Peninsula program at the Washington-based Middle East Institute, told VOA that reaching a deal will depend on what both sides believe they will gain from the deal.
“The key is whether Israel and Hamas believe that they have more to gain by reaching a ceasefire agreement than by continuing the conflict. And so far, what we have seen is that both sides have seen that their interests are not compromised by continuing the fighting.”
Hamas cast doubt on Friday on whether it would accept the latest proposal, saying it differed significantly from previous versions it had agreed to. The militant group was not directly involved in the latest round of talks but was briefed on developments.
Shortly after the Doha meeting ended, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office issued a statement saying Israel appreciated the mediators' efforts “to dissuade Hamas from agreeing to the hostage release deal.”
The statement went on to say, “Israel’s core principles are well known to the mediators and the United States, and Israel hopes that their pressure will lead Hamas to accept the (proposed) principles on May 27, so that the details of the agreement can be implemented.”
Regional Instability
Also on Friday (8/16), US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant about the situation in Gaza and the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah leaders in Lebanon.
In a US Department of Defense (DoD) explanation of the meeting, the department said the two discussed regional instability and the growing risk of escalation from Iran, Lebanon's Hezbollah and Iranian-backed terrorist groups in the Middle East.
Austin told Galant that the United States continues to monitor attack plans from Iran and its proxies and is well-positioned throughout the region to defend Israel and protect U.S. personnel and facilities. The two also discussed progress in cease-fire talks.
The meeting came as the Israeli army on Friday ordered people in southern and central Gaza to evacuate an area previously designated as a humanitarian safe zone. The army said Hamas had been using the area to fire mortars and rockets into Israel.
Hamas militants killed about 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages in their Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel that sparked the war. Israel believes Hamas is still holding 116 hostages, including 42 the military said were killed.
Israel has since responded with an air and ground offensive on Hamas-ruled Gaza that both sides agree has killed more than 39,400 people. Israel says the majority of those killed were combatants. The Hamas-run Health Ministry says 40,000 people have been killed, mostly women and children, but it does not give an estimate of how many were combatants.
According to the United Nations (UN), nearly three-quarters of Gaza's 2.3 million residents are refugees, and nearly the entire population is at risk of starvation. (ft)
Kim Lewis and Celia Mendoza contributed to this report. Some information came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
