The White House described Hamas’s latest Gaza ceasefire proposal as a “breakthrough” that establishes a framework for a possible hostage deal, but warned that talks over its implementation remain difficult.
A senior U.S. official said the Biden administration received Hamas’s latest proposal “a few days ago” and had been studying it ahead of a 30-minute phone call between Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday.
“The conversation was very detailed, with a careful study of the text of the agreement. It was constructive and encouraging, and also provided a clear understanding of the future work. [and] What steps must be taken to finalize this agreement and then begin implementation,” the U.S. official said of the call.
Netanyahu is scheduled to hold a security cabinet meeting on Thursday night to discuss the Hamas proposal and send a negotiating team to the Qatari capital Doha to hold talks with the United States, Egypt and Qatari mediators in the coming days.
Israeli officials said the delegation would be led as usual by David Barnea, the head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency.
The White House expects Doha talks to convene as soon as Friday. According to reports, Hamas’s proposal is in line with the three-phase peace agreement outlined by Biden on May 31, which has been officially accepted by the Israeli government and recognized by the United Nations Security Council.
U.S. officials have said Hamas’s earlier response contained elements that were negotiable but also some that were non-negotiable. The White House’s reaction to Hamas’s new response has been far more positive.
“I think the framework is now in place and we have to develop the steps to implement it,” a senior U.S. official said. “What we’re getting back from Hamas is a pretty significant adjustment to their position, which is encouraging. We’re hearing the same thing from the Israelis.
The official stressed that the agreement had not yet been finalized. “This does not mean that the deal will be completed in a few days. There is still a lot of work to be done on some implementation steps,” they said.
Until this week, the main obstacle to negotiations was widely differing views on how the deal would move from phase one to phase two.
The first phase includes the release of elderly, sick and female hostages by Hamas during a six-week truce, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza City, and the release of Palestinians held by Israel.
The second phase will include the release of all remaining hostages as well as the bodies of the deceased, a permanent end to hostilities and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. Phase three will mark the beginning of Gaza’s reconstruction.
The transition from phase one to phase two will be negotiated during the first six-week truce, which will continue as long as good-faith talks continue, but Hamas wants a stronger ceasefire on the way to a permanent ceasefire guarantee.
Netanyahu has publicly expressed doubts that this will happen and has vowed to completely eliminate the militia group, which has governed Gaza for nearly two decades and launched a surprise attack on southern Israel on October 7.
“Some of the key issues in transitioning from phase one to phase two were really a stumbling block. I think we made a breakthrough in that area,” the senior U.S. official said, without revealing details of the text Hamas submitted.
“Between phase one and phase two… you have to have the appropriate conditions and arrangements. I think that’s the obvious thing, but it’s something that Hamas has been resisting,” they said. It added that Hamas had given up its resistance to imposed conditions before reaching a permanent ceasefire.
The senior U.S. official said many implementation issues in the Doha talks involve “some sorting and then releasing detainees.”
“I have to say, given recent developments, we do believe there is a pretty significant void here and we welcome the Prime Minister’s readiness to try to seize that void by authorizing his negotiating team to engage directly in the Doha negotiations in the coming days,” the official said.
