Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden spoke on Sunday about efforts to reach a ceasefire and hostage release agreement in the Israel-Hamas war, a sign of an intensified push to reach to an agreement before the imminent inauguration of Donald Trump.
Talks brokered over the past year by the United States, Egypt and Qatar have repeatedly stalled when they appeared close to a deal. In recent days, US officials have expressed hope to seal an agreement.
Sunday’s call between Biden and Netanyahu came as the head of Israel’s Mossad foreign intelligence agency, David Barnea, and Biden’s top Middle East adviser, Brett McGurk, were both in the capital Qatar Doha. Barnea’s presence, confirmed by Netanyahu’s office, meant that high-level Israeli officials who would need to sign off on any deal are now involved in talks.
McGurk was working on the final details of a text to be presented to both sides, Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told CNN. State of the Union. But he said that he does not predict whether an agreement can be reached by January 20, the day of the inauguration.
“We’re very, very close,” he said. “However, being very close still means that we are far because until we actually reach the finish line, we are not there.”
The White House and Netanyahu’s office both confirmed the phone call between the two leaders without providing details.
Only a brief ceasefire was achieved in 15 months of war, and that was in the first weeks of fighting. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this week that a deal is “very close” and he hoped to complete it before handing over diplomacy to the incoming Trump administration.
Under discussion now is a phased ceasefire, with Netanyahu signaling that he is only committed to the first phase, a partial release of hostages in exchange for a weeks-long halt in fighting.
Hamas has insisted on a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the largely devastated territory, but Netanyahu has insisted on destroying Hamas’s ability to fight in Gaza.
Talks for a ceasefire and a hostage release agreement between Israel and Hamas have resumed in Cairo, and sources close to the negotiations say a deal could be signed in the coming days. Palestinians in southern Gaza say they hope this round of talks will see an end to the war so life can resume.
Issues in the talks included which hostages would be released in the first part of a phased ceasefire agreement, which imprisoned Palestinians would be released and the extent of any withdrawal of Israeli troops from population centers in Gaza. .
Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, according to the territory’s Ministry of Health, whose count does not give a breakdown between fighters and civilians.
Israel’s campaign was triggered by the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, in which the militants killed about 1,200 people and kidnapped about 250 others, according to Israeli accounts.
The families of the approximately 100 hostages still held in Gaza are pressing Netanyahu to reach a deal to bring their loved ones home. Israelis gathered again Saturday night in the city of Tel Aviv, with pictures of hostages on display.
In Gaza, Palestinians have tempered their hopes for an end to Israel’s campaign, which has devastated much of the territory and driven more than 80 percent of its 2.3 million people from their homes.
“We hear that there are negotiations every day, but we don’t see anything,” said Mazen Hammad, a resident of the southern city of Khan Younis. “When we see it on the ground, then we believe there is a truce.”
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2025-01-12 22:53:00
