A Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo ahead of an anticipated high-level summit there on Sunday for a Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, led by CIA Director William Burns.
An Israeli delegation headed by Mossad chief David Barnea is expected to return to Cairo on Sunday for those talks, which have been described as a last ditch effort to reach a deal based on a framework proposal US President Joe Biden unveiled on May 31.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani was expected to attend. This summit follows a high-level summit held in Doha two weeks ago, also led by Burns, in which Hamas did not participate.
The Hamas delegation headed by Khalil al-Hayya is not expected to actively engage in Sunday’s round of talks but wants to be close by to review any proposals that might emerge in those main talks.
A US official said negotiators from the United States met with Egypt and then bilaterally with Egypt and Qatar on Saturday and believed that representatives from Cairo and Doha were meeting with Hamas.
Qatar and Egypt, with the help of the United States, have been the main mediators for the negotiations.
An Israeli delegation headed by Barnea, Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, and Maj.-Gen. Eliezer Toledano were in Cairo on Thursday to help narrow the gaps on issues relating to the critical buffer zone between Egypt and Gaza, under which Hamas had smuggled weapons into the coastal enclave, the source explained.
Israel had hoped to resolve the issue of the Philadelphi Corridor before Sunday.
US special envoy Brett McGurk and Burns were already in Cairo holding talks Friday in advance of that high-level summit to secure the release of the remaining 109 hostages and end the ten-month Israel-Hamas war.
The Israeli delegation on Thursday brought maps and proposals to show how to secure that buffer zone. Egypt passed Israel’s proposals on the Philadelphi Corridor to Hamas.
Egypt, alongside Hamas, would also have to agree to any proposal with regard to Philadelphi since the corridor borders its territory.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that the IDF must maintain a presence on that border so it can prevent Hamas from rearming.
Hamas has stood firm on the need for an IDF withdrawal from Gaza.
The Prime Minister’s Office on Saturday reiterated that Israel must retain control of the Philadelphi Corridor.
The initial May 31 three-phase hostage and ceasefire proposal was constructed in such a way as to allow the deal to get underway without resolving all the issues, including the question of a permanent ceasefire and a full IDF withdrawal from Gaza.
The US two weeks ago put forward a bridging proposal that Israel accepted, but Hamas initially rejected, aimed at closing some of the overall disagreements between the two parties, but US Secretary of State Antony Blinken explained when he was in the region last week that it did not include all the issues in dispute.
Among the most critical issues still under debate is the Philadelphi Corridor.
Hamas reiterated on Saturday that it had accepted the initial May 31 proposal which was endorsed by the UN Security Council in June. It referred to the document as it appeared on July 2, and said that it was this version of the proposal that it accepted.
It confirmed in a statement “its readiness to implement what was agreed upon” and demanded “that pressure be put on the occupation [Israel] and that it be forced to implement this, and that it stop obstructing reaching an agreement.”
Critics of Netanyahu’s stance that Israel must maintain an IDF presence in the Philadelphi Corridor have said that a deal can be reached, if he would agree to an IDF withdrawal because all other issues are bridgeable.
Thousands demonstrated in Tel Aviv on Saturday night calling on Netanyahu to finalize the deal. Relatives of some of the hostages said in a statement, “We are on the eve of a summit in Cairo, and it appears this may be the last opportunity. Either a deal will be struck, or the [regional] escalations will intensify.
“A deal has been ready for signing since early July, but new conditions pushed by Netanyahu, specifically regarding the Philadelphi Corridor, are stalling it. This is not about the Philadelphi Corridor but rather a Philadelphi spin,” the hostage families stressed.
Biden spoke with al-Thani and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El Sisi on Friday. According to the White House, he discussed with both of them “the urgency of bringing the ceasefire and hostage release deal to closure under the comprehensive bridging proposal that is now on the table, which would free the hostages, bring life-saving relief to Palestinian civilians in Gaza, and de-escalate regional tensions.
“They discussed upcoming talks in Cairo and efforts to remove any remaining obstacles to the deal,” the White House said.
US National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby told reporters on Friday that the discussions in Cairo were “constructive” but more talks would take place over the weekend.
“Things are moving forward,” he said, as he debunked reports that the talks had collapsed, urging both Israel and Hamas to “move forward toward implementation” of the agreement, adding that he hoped the positive momentum of the last days would continue.
This deal will help Palestinians in Gaza because there would be an immediate lull to the fighting that would allow for a dramatic increase in humanitarian assistance, Kirby said.
“We are at a point where, if these talks do go well and both sides come to the table,” then the deal could become a reality, he stressed.
Kirby called on Hamas to agree to the deal and to participate in the high-level summit in Cairo this week.
Regional escalation
The US has hoped that a hostage deal would lead to the end of the war, a step that it hopes would prevent any reprisal attacks against Israel by Iran and its proxy Hezbollah of a scale that could spark a regional war.
Kirby said that the situation with Iran and Hezbollah was still “perilous.”
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty spoke with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi on Saturday about the Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal.
Abdelatty stressed that it was important for all parties to prevent an escalation of hostilities in the region, according to the Iranian Foreign Ministry.
Araghchi praised Egypt’s efforts to achieve a ceasefire but emphasized that the Islamic Republic maintained its right to respond to the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last month, according to the Iranian Foreign Ministry. It is widely assumed that Israel killed Haniyeh, even though Jerusalem has not taken responsibility for his death.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant spoke overnight with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, just one day after Biden spoke with Netanyahu.
“Their discussion focused primarily on joint preparation, as well as maintaining readiness and interoperability of Israeli and US forces and capabilities in the face of ongoing threats posed by Iran and Hezbollah against Israel,” Gallant’s office said in a statement.
Gallant updated Austin on the IDF’s efforts to destroy smuggling tunnels under the Philadelphi Corridor, explaining that so far, 150 such tunnels have been disabled.
“Gallant emphasized the importance of ongoing operations to dismantle remaining terror infrastructure, eliminating terror operatives and destroying Hamas tunnels,” the ministry said.
The two men also discussed efforts to reach a hostage deal at length.
In Chicago, Vice President Kamala Harris, who has been involved in US efforts to secure a hostage deal, spoke about its importance when she accepted the nomination to become the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee.
“President Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom, and self-determination,” Harris said.
Reuters and Maariv contributed to this report.