Israel's security and political chiefs were expected to arrive in Qatar on Sunday for high-level talks on a proposed Gaza ceasefire deal that would include the release of hostages in the final days of President Biden's term and before Donald Trump takes office.
Biden administration officials pressed for a deal that will be part of the legacy of the outgoing president and Mr. Trump warned “All hell will break loose in the Middle East” if Hamas does not release the hostages by the January 20 inauguration.
After months of deadlock, low-level talks have been underway in recent weeks.
While some progress has been made, disagreements remain on several key points, including the timing and extent of Israeli redeployment and the desire to withdraw from Gaza and eventually end the war, according to some officials and a Palestinian familiar with the matter. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are being held in private and they are not authorized to discuss the details publicly.
The Biden administration said that the representatives of the outgoing and future presidents of the United States cooperated in this matter, while Qatar and Egypt mediated between Israel and Hamas.
Mr. Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel on Saturday. On Friday, Mr. Witkoff was in Doha, the capital of Qatar, and met with the Prime Minister of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar reported on this.
Mr. Netanyahu's office announced late Saturday that he had discussed the issue with Israeli security chiefs and negotiators from both the outgoing and incoming American administrations. Mr Netanyahu's office said he had also ordered top Israeli negotiators, including David Barnea, the head of the Mossad intelligence agency, to travel to Qatar with the aim of brokering a deal.
Disagreements between Israel and Hamas remain over the permanence of the ceasefire, with Mr Netanyahu still unwilling to declare the war as part of the war. the three-phase deal laid out by Mr. Biden last may
Israel is insisting on a more vague formula that leaves room for ambiguity, according to a Palestinian and two Israeli officials familiar with the matter. Another official familiar with the matter said the Americans had to give assurances to mediators that the United States would work to end the war, although Israel did not agree on any specific wording.
Hamas is also demanding detailed maps from Israel showing where it will withdraw, but Israel has not provided them, according to officials and Palestinians familiar with the matter. They added that disagreements remain over the timing of the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the United States Corridor of PhiladelphiaA strip of land adjacent to Gaza's border with Egypt.
About 100 of the approximately 250 hostages taken in the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led offensive in southern Israel remain in Gaza. Israel believes at least a third of the remaining hostages are dead.
As pressure from the US and Israeli publics mounts, Israel and Hamas have shown signs of willingness to resolve outstanding issues. Last week, Hamas representatives confirmed the group An Israeli list of 34 hostages will be released in the first phase of the deal.
But Israel said last week that it had received no information from Hamas on the status of the hostages on the list, including women and children, men over the age of 50, and several sick or injured hostages it considers the most vulnerable and urgent cases. .
Israel has demanded a list of surviving hostages from Hamas. Without that, Israeli officials say, there can be no agreement on how many Palestinian prisoners Israel would be willing to release in exchange. As of Sunday morning, Israel had not received the list of live hostages, according to one of the officials familiar with the matter.
The body of one of the 34 hostages, 53-year-old Yusuf Ziyadne, an Arab Israeli citizen, along with the remains of his son Hamza Ziyadne, were found by Israeli forces in a tunnel in Gaza last week. He was also captured during the 2023 attack.
The Israeli military brought the remains of both men to Israel for burial.