The leaders of the United States, Qatar, and Egypt have issued a joint statement urging Israel and Hamas to return to the negotiating table and finalize a ceasefire and hostages and detainees release deal. The statement, released on Thursday, emphasized the importance of concluding the agreement and resolving the remaining implementation issues.
President Joe Biden, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sisi, and Qatari Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani expressed their expectation that all parties will meet next Thursday in either Doha or Cairo to discuss the final bridging proposal. The proposal aims to resolve the outstanding issues and meet the expectations of all parties.
However, a senior U.S. official noted that a deal is unlikely to be reached at the meeting, citing the need for further work on several key issues. The official acknowledged that both sides have firm positions on about four or five issues, which may be difficult to bridge.
The U.S., Egypt, and Qatar have been working tirelessly to facilitate a deal between Israel and Hamas, but progress has been slow. The two sides agreed to a weeklong ceasefire in late November, during which about 100 Israeli hostages were released. However, no deal has been agreed upon since then.
The assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the former head of Hamas’s political bureau and lead negotiator, has added complexity to the negotiations. Hamas’s top leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, has been chosen to replace Haniyeh and is believed to be hiding in Hamas’s tunnel system underneath Gaza.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasized that Sinwar is the primary decision-maker when it comes to concluding the ceasefire. Blinken noted that a ceasefire would not only bring the hostages home but also open up possibilities for de-escalating tensions and bringing real security and stability to the region.
The looming threat of an Iranian retaliatory attack against Israel for Haniyeh’s assassination has added urgency to the negotiations. Iran has a number of proxy forces in the Middle East, including Hamas and Hezbollah, which could be involved in the response.
Hezbollah has been attacking Israel’s northern community with rocket and missile fire since Hamas’s October 7 attack. The group’s arsenal is more sophisticated than Hamas’s, and they have the ability to hit targets anywhere within Israel with precision-guided missiles.
Iran also supports the Houthis in Yemen, which have fired about 200 drones and missiles toward Israel since the war began. The Houthis have primarily targeted commercial vessels in the Red Sea, forcing global shipping companies to reroute their vessels to avoid the area.
Additionally, Iran supports militias in Iraq and Syria, which have fired missiles, drones, and rockets toward U.S. bases in the region. A recent attack on Al Asad Air Base in Iraq injured five U.S. personnel, three of whom were evacuated to a medical center in Germany.
