By SCN webdesk
Gaza truce talks in Doha get off to ‘promising start,’ set to continue Friday
Israeli negotiators and international mediators met in Qatar on Thursday for talks aimed at halting fighting in Gaza and securing the release of hostages held by the Hamas terror group, with a potential deal touted as the best hope of heading off an even larger regional conflict.
Officials from the United States, Qatar and Egypt met with the Israeli team, led by Mossad chief David Barnea, in Doha, to attempt to hammer out the details of a long-simmering phased deal to end some 10 months of fighting in Gaza sparked by the October 7 attacks, during which Hamas-led terrorists killed some 1,200 people and abducted 251, mostly civilians.
White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby called Thursday a “promising start,” and said negotiations were expected to run into Friday
Israeli negotiators and international mediators met in Qatar on Thursday for talks aimed at halting fighting in Gaza and securing the release of hostages held by the Hamas terror group, with a potential deal touted as the best hope of heading off an even larger regional conflict.
Officials from the United States, Qatar and Egypt met with the Israeli team, led by Mossad chief David Barnea, in Doha, to attempt to hammer out the details of a long-simmering phased deal to end some 10 months of fighting in Gaza sparked by the October 7 attacks, during which Hamas-led terrorists killed some 1,200 people and abducted 251, mostly civilians.
White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby called Thursday a “promising start,” and said negotiations were expected to run into Friday
A lot of work remains given the complexity of the agreement and that negotiators were focusing on its implementation, Kirby said, adding that the mediators managed to “narrow some gaps” in the lead-up to the meeting in Doha. He described Thursday’s meeting as an important step toward a deal.
“The remaining obstacles can be overcome, and we must bring this process to a close,” he said.
CIA Director Bill Burns and US Middle East envoy Brett McGurk represented Washington at the talks, convened by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, with Egypt’s intelligence chief Abbas Kamel also in Doha.
Kirby downplayed Hamas’s absence from the talks, noting that the talks have been indirect until now in any case.
“In the past, it has worked very similar[ly] to how it’s working in Doha today, where mediators will sit and discuss, work things out, and then those mediators will be in touch with Hamas, and then Hamas leaders in Doha communicate directly with Mr. Sinwar for final answers,” Kirby said.
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters Thursday that the group was committed to the negotiation process and urged mediators to secure Israel’s commitment to a proposal Hamas issued in early July.
The mediators have spent months trying to hammer out a three-phase plan in which Hamas would release the over-100 hostages it is still holding in Gaza in exchange for a ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the release of Palestinian security prisoners jailed by Israel.
Officials from the international community say a ceasefire is needed urgently to free those held captive from grave danger and to end widespread suffering in Gaza, which has been devastated by 10 months of intense military activity aimed at ending Hamas’s rule over the enclave and freeing the hostages. Hamas health authorities said Thursday that the death toll in the Strip had surpassed 40,000, though the toll cannot be verified and is thought to include at least 17,000 combatants Israel says it has killed
Diplomats hope a ceasefire in Gaza will also persuade Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah to hold off on retaliating for the killing of a top Hezbollah commander in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut and of Hamas’ top political leader in an explosion in Tehran that has been blamed on Israel.
Both Israel and Hamas have agreed in principle to the plan, which US President Joe Biden announced on May 31. But Hamas has proposed “amendments” and Israel has suggested “clarifications,” leading each side to accuse the other of making new demands it cannot accept.
Ahead of the departure of the Israeli team, a source in the delegation said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had allowed significant leeway on a few of the substantial disputes, though it was unclear if the added flexibility would suffice to bridge remaining gaps.
“We received some minimal wiggling room,” one unnamed source told Channel 12. “It’s something to start with, but might not be enough.”
Aside from Barnea, the delegation includes Shin Bet head Ronen Bar, IDF Maj. Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon and senior Netanyahu adviser Ophir Falk.
Before leaving for Qatar, Channel 12 reported Alon gave Netanyahu a document setting out details regarding the deteriorating conditions in which the abductees are held, urging flexibility in Israel’s negotiations to take the mounting danger against them into account
“The more time passes, the greater the threat to the hostages’ lives,” the document reportedly said. “In light of this, room for flexibility should be found within the framework of the negotiations.”
The Prime Minister’s Office denied such a document had been presented.
Hamas has rejected Israel’s demands for a lasting military presence along the border with Egypt and a line bisecting Gaza where it would search Palestinians returning to their homes in the north to root out terror operatives. Hamas spokesperson Osama Hamdan said the group is only interested in discussing the implementation of Biden’s proposal and not in further negotiations over its content.
