U.S. Officials See Hopeful Signs in Gaza Cease-Fire Talks
Some American officials have grown more optimistic that a deal to release Israeli hostages held in Gaza in return for a cease-fire is at hand. But people briefed on the talks say it will be days until it is clear whether a breakthrough has been achieved because of difficulties in communication between Hamas officials in Qatar and the group’s leaders in Gaza.
Other officials said that previous moments of hope about an agreement had been dashed by both the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Hamas. In Washington, the White House national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, reflected both the optimism and the caution, noting that many details still needed to be hammered out to secure a deal.
“There’s still miles to go before we close if we are able to close,” Mr. Sullivan told reporters on Thursday. “So I don’t want to say that it’s immediately around the corner, but it does not have to be far out in the distance if everyone comes in this with the will to get it done.”
Later on Thursday, President Biden also expressed guarded optimism about the direction of negotiations during a news conference closing a NATO conference in Washington, D.C. “There’s still gaps to close, but we’re making progress,” the president said. “The trend is positive. I’m determined to get this deal done and bring an end to this war which should end now.”
Earlier this week, the Mr. Biden dispatched his top aide for Middle East affairs, Brett McGurk, to Israel for discussions with the government there, while William J. Burns, the C.I.A. director, traveled to Doha, Qatar, for talks with the Egyptian, Qatari and Israeli officials negotiating over the release of the hostages.
On Friday, Mr. McGurk led the American delegation for further talks in Cairo on the framework of a three-phase deal that is backed by the United States and the United Nations. After holding meetings with the Israeli negotiating team on Thursday, Mr. Netanyahu dispatched a delegation led by the head of Israel’s Shin Bet intelligence service to Cairo for continued discussions.
