The C.I.A. director met with prime Qatari and Egyptian officers on Wednesday because the Biden administration launched a renewed push for a cease-fire in Gaza, although Israel and Hamas appeared to stay far aside on the newest proposal to pause the combating.
The U.S. spy chief, William J. Burns, met in Doha, Qatar, with the Qatari prime minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and the Egyptian intelligence chief, Abbas Kamel, based on an official briefed on the matter, who spoke on the situation of anonymity to debate the closed-door encounter.
Egypt and Qatar have been key mediators in the talks between Israel and Hamas, which don’t discuss immediately to one another. By dispatching Mr. Burns, the Biden administration signaled that it was nonetheless investing closely in making an attempt to dealer a cease-fire to finish the bloodshed in Gaza and calm broader regional tensions.
The assembly targeted on discovering methods to carry Israel and Hamas nearer to an settlement, based on the official, who stated that Qatar had acquired preliminary optimistic suggestions from Hamas to a cease-fire proposal endorsed final week by President Biden, however was nonetheless ready to obtain a proper response.
On Wednesday, the Qatari prime minister and Mr. Kamel additionally met with Hamas leaders to debate the proposal, the official briefed on the talks stated.
Mr. Biden described the proposal as a brand new Israeli supply that will start with a six-week halt in combating and in the end result in the “cessation of hostilities permanently,” elevating hopes amongst Israelis and Palestinians {that a} deal to finish the practically eight-month battle was lastly imminent. But for the reason that president went public with the supply, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has repeatedly rejected ending the battle with out first destroying Hamas’s governing and navy capabilities.
On Wednesday, a senior Hamas official repeated the group’s place that it will not conform to any deal that didn’t present for a everlasting cease-fire. The official, Bassem Naim, stated that “it doesn’t make sense” for the group to barter whereas Israeli forces launch contemporary assaults in Gaza, and stated Hamas wouldn’t settle for a brief truce.
“The thirsty will drink a little and the hungry will eat a little, and then after a month and a half we will return to being killed?” he stated.
The official briefed on the assembly in Qatar stated that current statements by Mr. Netanyahu and different Israeli officers have made Hamas officers query whether or not Israel desires a everlasting halt in the combating.
A spokesman for the Qatari Foreign Ministry, Majed al-Ansari, stated on Tuesday that it was “waiting for a clear Israeli position that represents the entire government.”
Amid the general public disagreements, Mr. Burns’ keep in Doha wasn’t anticipated to result in main progress, stated a second particular person briefed on the negotiations, who spoke on situation of anonymity to debate the delicate diplomacy. Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas chief in Gaza and the presumed mastermind of the Oct. 7 terrorist assault on southern Israel, nonetheless needed to weigh in on the newest proposal, that particular person stated.
Brett McGurk, the White House’s Middle East coordinator, was additionally returning to the area this week for conferences in Cairo, a U.S. official stated.
Jake Sullivan, the U.S. nationwide safety adviser, stated on Wednesday that the proposal outlined by Mr. Biden was “still a live proposal,” although Mr. Netanyahu has not publicly endorsed it and two of his ministers have stated they’d oppose any deal that leaves Hamas intact.
“Israel is a raucous democracy, so there is a lot of talk and a lot of chatter,” Mr. Sullivan stated in an interview on NBC’s “Today” present. “But the Israeli government has reconfirmed repeatedly, as recently as today, that that proposal is still on the table and now it’s up to Hamas to accept it. And the whole world should call on Hamas to accept it.”
The first section of the proposal laid out by Mr. Biden known as for either side to watch a brief six-week cease-fire whereas they proceed to barter to achieve a everlasting one. In a gathering with Israeli lawmakers on Monday, Mr. Netanyahu expressed openness to a 42-day pause in the combating, embracing no less than a part of the primary section of the three-part plan described by Mr. Biden, based on an individual who attended the dialogue.
At a information convention on Tuesday, Osama Hamdan, a Hamas spokesman, stated the newest Israeli place communicated to the group didn’t embody a everlasting cease-fire or an entire withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, each phrases that Hamas has insisted on. Israel, Mr. Hamdan stated, was in solely a brief cease-fire to free hostages, and would then resume the battle.
“We call on the mediators to get a clear position from the Israeli occupation,” he stated.
Raja Abdulrahim contributed reporting.
