An Israeli delegation arrived in Paris on Friday for talks with senior officials from Egypt, Qatar and the United States, the latest effort to advance a ceasefire deal with Hamas and the release of hostages being held in Gaza, an Israeli official said. . Friday.
Mossad chief David Barnea. CIA Director William J. Burns; Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani; and Abbas Kamel, the head of Egypt’s intelligence service, are expected to attend the talks, according to a second Israeli official and a person briefed on the talks. All the officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss diplomatic developments.
Qatar and Egypt act as intermediaries between Israel and Hamas, which do not negotiate directly.
The talks come a day after President Biden’s Middle East envoy met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top officials in Israel as part of a series of efforts to negotiate the release of hostages and a cessation of hostilities. According to Israeli officials, about 100 hostages are still being held in Gaza. At least 30 others are dead, officials believe.
On Tuesday, Hamas said a delegation led by Ismail Haniyeh was in Cairo to meet with Egyptian officials to discuss efforts to end the war. On Thursday, Hamas issued a statement saying that Mr. Haniyeh met with the head and aides of the Egyptian intelligence service and concluded his visit. The statement said that among the issues discussed in those talks were ending the war, the return of displaced people to their homes, humanitarian aid, the exchange of hostages with Palestinian prisoners and “what the occupation plans to do at al-Aqsa Mosque” during the during Ramadan.
Efforts to secure a ceasefire deal have become more urgent as the death toll from four months of war in the Gaza Strip approaches 30,000 Palestinians, according to health officials there, and as Israel’s declared plan to invade its southernmost city Gaza, the Rafah, is increasing. international alert.
Talks appeared to have stalled last week after talks held in Cairo failed to make significant progress. Mr Netanyahu withdrew his negotiators, accusing Hamas of refusing to budge on what he called “ridiculous” demands and pledging to continue Israel’s offensive.
But on Wednesday night, Benny Gantz, a member of Israel’s war cabinet, said there had been push for a new draft agreement that showed a “possibility to move forward”.
And on Thursday, a White House official said President Biden’s Middle East coordinator, Brett McGurk, had “constructive” meetings in Israel with Mr. Netanyahu. Yoav Gallant, the Israeli Defense Minister; and other members of Israel’s war cabinet.
“The initial indications we’re getting from Brett are that these discussions are going well,” said the official, John Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council. He also said that Mr McGurk had spent “a good two hours” with Mr Netanyahu.
Mr McGurk focused on whether negotiators could “consolidate a hostage deal for an extended pause to get all these hostages back home where they belong and reduce the violence so we can get more humanitarian aid in,” said the Mr. Kirby.
Mr Gallant, after meeting Mr McGurk on Thursday in Tel Aviv, said the Israeli government “will expand the authority given to our hostage negotiators”.
A person briefed on the talks, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there are indications that both Hamas and Israel are willing to negotiate an interim deal that could exchange 35 Israeli hostages who are either medically frail or older with an unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners. .
Mr Kirby said Mr McGurk intended to press the Israeli war cabinet over his plans for his military operation in Rafah.
“Nothing has changed in our view that any operation in Rafah without due diligence and a credible executive plan for the safety and security of the more than one million Palestinians seeking refuge in Rafah would be a disaster,” Mr Kirby said. “We will not support this.”
Earlier this week, the United States vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that would have demanded an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Israeli and US officials have argued that an immediate cease-fire would allow Hamas to regroup and entrench itself in Gaza and ease pressure for a deal to free hostages held on the ground.
The United States has drafted a rival resolution, still in the early stages of negotiations, calling for a temporary humanitarian ceasefire “as soon as possible” and the release of the hostages.
Adam Sella and Cassandra Winograd contributed to the report.
