Qatar and Egypt plan talks with Hamas on Gaza ceasefire
Sullivan said US officials believe there remains an avenue to an agreement and that the next step will be for Qatari and Egyptian mediators to talk to Hamas
Qatari and Egyptian mediators plan to engage with Hamas soon to see if there is a way to push ahead with the three-phased Gaza ceasefire proposal unveiled by US President Joe Biden last month, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Saturday.“We anticipate a back-and-forth between the mediators and Hamas,” Sullivan said. “We’ll see where we stand at that point. We will keep consulting with the Israelis and then hopefully at some point next week we’ll be able to report to you where we think things stand and what we see as being the next step to try to bring this to closure,” he said.Sullivan spoke to reporters on the sidelines of a Ukraine peace summit and was asked about diplomatic efforts to get an agreement for Hamas to release the remaining 120 hostages held since October 7. Sullivan said he had spoken briefly to one of the main interlocutors, Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and that they would speak again about Gaza on Sunday while both are in Switzerland for the Ukraine conference.
He spoke as the US and Israeli are grappling with how to move forward on a hostage deal, in light of the amendments Hamas made to Biden’s proposal, which has Jerusalem’s backing.
Stumbling blocks to the deal
There are those in Israel, including many relatives of the hostages, who have called on the government to end the war and make the deal.
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