CNN
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International mediators are making an urgent push for Israel and Hamas to reach a ceasefire and hostage deal next week after high-stakes negotiations in Qatar saw them put a fresh proposal to the warring parties.
The “bridging proposal” presented on Friday was intended to close the remaining gaps of disagreement between both sides, a joint statement from the US, Qatar and Egypt said.
US President Joe Biden expressed optimism about the state of ceasefire and hostage release talks that are expected to resume in Cairo next week. “We are closer than we’ve ever been,” he said, adding that the talks had brought the chances of a deal “much, much closer than it was three days ago.”
But the Hamas leadership sees the new US proposal as responding and conforming to Israel’s conditions, a senior Hamas source privy to the details of the negotiations told CNN. The source accused Israel of adding new conditions in order to stall the agreement.
Meanwhile, the Israeli negotiating delegation returned to Israel late Friday feeling cautiously optimistic about the prospects of reaching a deal, an Israeli source familiar with the talks said. “They narrowed the gaps,” the source said. “These were very productive and positive talks.”
The source, however, cautioned that the bridging proposal has yet to be submitted to Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza — a process that is expected to occur this weekend.
The two days of discussions took place amid tensions across the region about a potential Iranian attack against Israel, which carries the risk of scuppering already fragile negotiations.
Biden on Friday also sent a warning message to Iran and Iranian-backed proxies that they should not take any actions “to undermine” the progress of the talks.
The US president added that he is sending Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Israel this weekend to “reaffirm” the White House’s “iron-clad support for Israel’s security.”
According to a diplomatic source close to negotiations, the talks were attended both days by CIA director Bill Burns, Mossad chief David Barnea, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Jassim Al Thani and Egyptian intelligence head Abbas Kamel.
The joint statement from the US, Qatar and Egypt said the proposal “builds on the areas of agreement over the past week,” and “bridges remaining gaps in a manner that allows for a swift implementation of the deal.”
Senior officials from the US, Qatar and Egypt will meet again in Cairo before the end of next week, “with the aim to “conclude the deal under the terms put forward” Friday, the joint statement said.
The talks were “serious and constructive,” the statement added, though it did not elaborate on what points of agreement were achieved over the past week.
Israel on Friday said it welcomed the mediators’ efforts but did not explicitly endorse the latest proposal on the table.
“Israel appreciates the efforts of the US and the mediators to dissuade Hamas from its refusal to a hostage release deal,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a statement.
“Israel’s essential principles are well known to the mediators and the US, and Israel hopes that their pressure will lead Hamas to accept the May 27 principles, so that the details of the agreement can be implemented.”
Later that evening, an Israeli source told CNN that a working-level delegation has remained in Doha and another working-level delegation is expected to fly to Cairo this weekend to work through the technical details of the implementation of an agreement, the source said.
Hamas has not rejected a hostage release deal, as the statement from the PMO suggested. On Thursday it reiterated its stance that there will be no hostage deal or ceasefire agreement without a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.
The senior Hamas source privy to the details of the negotiations confirmed to CNN that the armed group believes Israel continues to evade and obstruct and insists on adding new conditions to stall the agreement.
Hamas did not attend the talks but engaged separately with Qatari and Egyptian mediators.
The death toll in Gaza since Israel launched its war against Hamas reached 40,000 people earlier this week, a bleak figure that underscores the desperation in the enclave for a reprieve from ten months of bloody conflict.
But discussions to bring about a pause have been shrouded in uncertainty since Israeli strikes in late July killed Hamas’ former political leader and senior figures in Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
It is understood that both sides have failed to agree on the implementation of the finer details of the proposal.
A regional diplomat familiar with the negotiations told CNN that the continued sticking points for Hamas are Israel’s restrictions on the movement of people from southern Gaza to the north, its demand for a veto over which Palestinian prisoners would be released, as well as its continued presence at the Philadelphi corridor and the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.
Both Israel and Hamas may be forced to be more flexible in the days ahead in order to reach a deal. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is already facing significant pressure from the US – which is expected to be conveyed during Blinken’s visit to Israel next week – and the Qataris and Egyptians plan on bringing more pressure to bear on Hamas.
It is too early to tell if there will be an agreement, but the Israeli source said there is potential for a deal to be announced when top officials convene again mid to late next week.
A major Iranian reprisal attack against Israel could still disrupt the ceasefire talks; previous negotiations were at an advanced stage before the assassination of Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and a Hezbollah military commander in Beirut, US officials have said.
Iran has blamed on Israel for Haniyeh’s death. Israel hasn’t confirmed or denied responsibility.
On Friday, Iran’s acting foreign minister Ali Bagheri expressed skepticism about the integrity of the negotiations, accusing the US of bias in a phone call with Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani.
“By supplying the Zionists with war weapons, the US is itself an accomplice, not a neutral mediator,” Bagheri tweeted.
Meanwhile, a senior US administration official has warned that there could be “cataclysmic” consequences and “particularly for Iran” if Tehran decides to strike Israel and escalate the conflict in the Middle East.
The official added that the United States has encouraged Iran, through intermediaries, to not attack as there is a “path” to achieve a ceasefire and hostage deal on the table. The de-escalation and potential for a ceasefire deal are “separate,” the official said, but are happening in “parallel.”
When asked by CNN’s MJ Lee whether the US would be involved in any attacks on Iran – after Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz said that he told his British and French counterparts that he expects their nations to attack Iran in the event of an Iranian attack on Israel – the senior administration official sidestepped, saying the situation is “very hypothetical.”
“We have deployed the military resources to the region that are needed for every possible contingency, and we’re working in very close coordination with partners and allies,” the official added.
“We are ready for any possible contingency, and we’re going to help defend Israel, and not going to get ahead of anything else that. I just say this, this attack from Iran has been predicted now, I think every day over the last two and a half weeks. So you know, let’s see. I’ll just say we are prepared,” they added.
CNN’s Samantha Waldenberg contributed reporting
