Ceasefire process 'in the end game': Biden official says talks could conclude end of next week

Ceasefire negotiators in Doha are coming off of what a senior Biden administration official is calling the "most constructive 48 hours of the negotiation process in months" with the final bridging proposal in place which mediators are hopeful can be agreed upon with talks concluding in Cairo next week. 

"It was a consensus of all the participants here over the last 48 hours that there's really a new spirit here to drive this to a conclusion," said the official, speaking from Doha. 

The official laid out the timeline of the terms of the deal in place, saying Israel put down a proposal on May 27 that was the basis of the President's speech on May 3. 

On July 3, Hamas came back with a response to that, with a number of changes, many of which were not acceptable, according to the official, but many of which were a basis for further discussion. On July 27, Israel issued some clarification to the text. 

"Basically, what we've done is taken the gaps that remain and have bridged those in a way that we think is a deal that is now ready to close, implement and move forward," the official said, adding there is still more work to do. 

On points of contention from Doha, such as the IDF remaining in control of the Philadelphi corridor, the official said the issue is "moving the right way" and consistent with the May 27 version of the deal in which Israel remains in control of the area bordering Egypt and Gaza.  

"Is stipulated in the deal that particularly people going from South to North, displaced persons meeting civilians without arms, that is a core provision of the deal," according to the official. "And obviously, the Israelis want to make sure that that provision is followed through. We believe, as do the other mediators, that that is a material principle of the deal, and that if anyone is carrying arms from South to North, that would be a violation of the deal."

Additional meetings in Doha and Cairo will talk about the implementation process of the deal, notably the extensive humanitarian provisions and ensuring their rapid implementation once the deal is concluded. 

The official noted the significant humanitarian provisions of the deal in not just the amount of aid that's needed in Gaza but also the clearing of rubble, rehabilitation of medical services and electricity. 

Meetings will also focus on the actual exchange of detainees and hostages, as well as other areas of the deal the official said requires some monitoring to make sure that there's compliance. 

Exchanging terrorists for hostages

The official acknowledged what he called the "uncomfortable" parts of the deal, noting the "difficult"  element of exchanging Palestinian prisoners for hostages. 

"That will be ongoing through the week, and then again in Cairo, before the end of next week, we will gather again at this level with an aim to conclude this. That is the goal," the official said. "That is something that President al Sisi and Emir Tamim just confirmed with [Biden], and that is something we'll be driving toward."

Though he added he didn't want to underscore how difficult the coming week will be. 

"There's a lot of work to do here, but we are fully behind it," he said. "We're going to do all we can to bring this to conclusion, because the lives of the hostages really can't wait anymore, and we are quite confident at what this deal does."