Talks aimed at achieving a Gaza ceasefire and securing a hostage-release deal have made significant progress, according to US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. Speaking to reporters in Beijing, where he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Sullivan provided an update on the ongoing negotiations, emphasizing that the discussions have entered a critical phase.
“The negotiators are bearing down on the details, meaning that we have advanced the discussions to a point where it’s in the nitty-gritty, and that is a positive sign of progress,” Sullivan said.
The discussions, involving officials from the United States, Egypt, Qatar, and Israel, took place in Doha on Wednesday, following a weekend of high-level talks in Cairo. Jerusalem’s delegation, which included representatives from the Israel Defense Forces, the Mossad, and the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), returned to Israel on Tuesday after participating in the Cairo negotiations.
While the high-level talks in Cairo ended on Sunday without a deal, lower-level discussions continued on Monday as negotiators sought to resolve the remaining differences. In Doha, the Israeli delegation is expected to continue talks with representatives from Egypt, Qatar, and the United States. These discussions are aimed at finalizing the terms of a ceasefire and securing the release of hostages held by Hamas.
US Special Coordinator for the Middle East Brett McGurk also engaged in preparatory talks on Tuesday with senior Qatari leaders ahead of Wednesday’s negotiations, according to a US official cited by the Associated Press.
Despite the progress, challenges remain. Hamas has publicly rejected the current terms of the deal, accusing the United States of siding with Israeli demands. Egyptian officials have also expressed doubts about the likelihood of a breakthrough.
“At the end of the day, nothing is done until it’s done. And so we’re just going to keep working at this until we finally get the ceasefire-and-hostage deal across the line,” Sullivan concluded.
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2 Responses
I hope the nitty-gritty isn’t whether or not the Hamas barbarians return living hostages or corpses. By them its the same and the Americans consider it a but a minor difference….
translation: “hamas might be willing to talk, once we squeeze more concessions out of israel”. israel should NOT continue negotiating until hamas provides independent proof of the condition of the hostages – i.e. red cross visits. otherwise, these “talks” are just a waste of time.