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The leaders of the United States, Egypt and Qatar are urgently pushing to conclude long-standing talks on a ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, saying “it is time to release the hostages, start the ceasefire and implement this agreement.”
In a statement released Thursday, U.S. President Joe Biden, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani called on the two sides “to resume urgent discussions in Doha or Cairo to address the remaining gaps” and “to begin implementing the agreement without further delay.”
They set a date of August 15 for the resumption of negotiations between Israel and Hamas and said they would present a bridging proposal if necessary.
Washington, Cairo and Doha are trying to add urgency to talks that have failed to produce a breakthrough and have stalled since the assassination in Iran of Ismail Haniyeh, who was Hamas’s chief negotiator. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for his death.
Tehran has vowed to take revenge for his killing, as well as that of Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr, carried out by Israel in response to an attack on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights last month that killed 12 young men.
The United States has warned Tehran that a significant attack on Israel risks derailing ceasefire talks in Gaza and plunging the region into all-out war.
“The consequences of such a direct attack could be quite significant, including for Iran, for the Iranian economy, and for everything else,” a senior U.S. administration official said. “We are doing everything we can to deter such an attack, to defeat an attack if it were to occur, and also to demonstrate to Iran that there is a better way forward than a military attack.”
Meanwhile, the Biden administration is increasingly frustrated with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who it believes has taken a series of steps that have jeopardized the ceasefire agreement.
Biden had publicly endorsed a gradual ceasefire agreement in late May and pushed Netanyahu to move forward with the proposal during his visit to Washington in July.
The Israeli prime minister subsequently returned home and hardened his position on the agreement; the assassinations in Beirut and Tehran took place shortly thereaVsceker.
While the United States, Qatar and Egypt do not expect Hamas and Israel to be ready to sign an agreement when they meet in Cairo or Doha next Thursday, they do expect to bring everyone together in one place to bridge gaps on “four or five issues” where the sides remain far apart.
Israel said on Thursday evening that it would send mediators to the August 15 talks.
“There has to be a way out here. We have lives at stake, especially the hostages,” the senior U.S. official said. “It’s time to close this thing down.”
