Top Qatari and Egyptian mediators meet Hamas to press for Gaza hostage-ceasefire deal
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Israeli army tanks deploy in Israel's southern border with the Gaza Strip on June 5. Photo: Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images
Qatar's prime minister and Egypt's director of intelligence met in Doha on Wednesday with senior Hamas officials to discuss the Israeli proposal for a Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, according to two sources with knowledge of the meeting.
Why it matters: The meeting, less than a week after Hamas received the proposal and President Biden presented it to the world, comes amid concerns Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's public statements could undermine the negotiations.
- Netanyahu is under significant pressure from both sides of his coalition. While the ultranationalist parties threaten to topple the government if the deal goes through, the ultra-Orthodox and center-right parties are pressing him to push forward and ignore the threats.
- Both Qatar and Egypt — two key mediators in the indirect talks between Israel and Hamas — said Hamas' response to Biden's speech was positive, but the group still hasn't given an official response to the proposal.
Driving the news: CIA director Bill Burns arrived in Doha on Tuesday night to meet with Qatari and Egyptian mediators, including Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Egyptian intelligence director Abbas Kamel.
- A source briefed about the meeting with Hamas officials in Doha said there is no breakthrough yet and the efforts to reach a deal are ongoing.
- Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas' political bureau, said on Wednesday after the meeting that the group will consider "sincerely and positively" any proposal that is based on ending the war and withdrawing Israeli forces from Gaza.
- White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told NBC on Wednesday that the Israeli hostage deal proposal is still "a live proposal."
- "The Israeli government has reconfirmed as recently as today that the proposal is still on the table and it is up to Hamas to accept it," he said.
What's next: Hamas officials and representatives from other Palestinian factions like the Islamic Jihad are expected to arrive in Cairo later this week for additional talks.
- Biden's top Middle East adviser Brett McGurk arrived in Cairo today for talks with Egyptian officials about the hostage and ceasefire deal.
