Jake Sullivan, the U.S. national security adviser, said the Biden administration is working with Egypt and Qatar “to bridge the remaining gaps” between Israel and Hamas on a cease-fire deal.Credit…Pool photo by Al Drago
The Biden administration is working with Egypt and Qatar “to bridge the remaining gaps” between Israel and Hamas on a truce in Gaza, Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, said Thursday, although he cautioned that there was no clear timetable for reaching a deal.
The proposed cease-fire deal follows an outline publicized last month by President Biden. On Monday, the United Nations Security Council broadly endorsed the proposal, which would include the release of the remaining 120 hostages held in Gaza as well as Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
But after more than eight months of war in Gaza, Israel and Hamas still appear to be far apart on an agreement. On Tuesday, Hamas issued a formal response to the cease-fire proposal to Qatari and Egyptian mediators, which officials in the Palestinian armed group said included some amendments.
“Some of those amendments are modest, minor, they’re not unanticipated,” Mr. Sullivan said at a briefing in Italy, where leaders of the Group of 7 countries were convening, without giving details. “We can work through them. Others are not consistent with what President Biden laid out.”
The three-stage plan calls for an immediate six-week cease-fire in the first phase as negotiators hammer out a plan for a permanent end to fighting. Some hostages held in Gaza would also be released during the first phase in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned in Israeli jails.
In the second phase, both sides would declare a permanent cease-fire, Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza, and more hostage-for-prisoner exchanges would take place. The third phase would include the reconstruction of Gaza.
Hamas demanded a clear timeline for a permanent cease-fire and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, and wanted further assurances from the United States and other mediators to that effect, said an official familiar with the talks, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive negotiations.
Two senior members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps briefed on Hamas’s response said it included a demand that Israel withdraw from two critical corridors — one along the Egyptian border and one cutting across the center of the Gaza Strip — within the first week of the initial truce.
Hamas also demanded a full Israeli withdrawal by the end of the first phase of the agreement, as well as a complete and “sustainable” halt to fighting before any exchange of Palestinian prisoners for hostages, the Revolutionary Guard members said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive negotiations.
The Israeli government described Hamas’s counterproposal as an effective rejection of the deal. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has not clearly and publicly endorsed it either, issuing carefully worded statements emphasizing Israel’s commitment to Hamas’s destruction without taking an unequivocal stance.
Mr. Biden described the proposal as an Israeli initiative, and Israeli officials confirmed it was approved by the country’s top leadership. But Mr. Netanyahu’s far-right allies have vowed to bolt his ruling coalition should he agree to the deal — potentially toppling his government — which they call terms of surrender to Hamas.
Asked about the ambiguous Israeli public stance, Mr. Sullivan said he could confirm that Israel stood behind the proposal. “I haven’t heard any Israeli leader right now contradict that they stand behind the proposal,” he added.
