The White House said on Friday that ceasefire talks in Cairo had been constructive and would continue into the weekend, as the United States and Mideast allies press Israel and Hamas for a compromise.
CIA Director William Burns and President Joe Biden’s senior adviser for Middle East affairs, Brett McGurk, are leading the US side in the talks that began on Thursday amid major differences between Israel and Hamas, as Israel remains adamant about keeping its troops along two strategic corridors in Gaza.
“There has been progress, now we need both sides to come together and work toward implementation,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby said.
Kirby did not specify where progress had been made but stressed that talks between the United States, Israel and Hamas mediators Egypt and Qatar had gained momentum.
Biden on Friday took a break from his family vacation in California’s Santa Ynez Valley to hold talks with Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to discuss developments in the talks.
Diplomatic efforts have redoubled recently as fears of a wider regional war have grown following targeted killings of leaders of the militant Hamas and Hezbollah groups (for which Israel has been blamed) and threats of retaliation.
Israel and Hamas are at loggerheads over the Philadelphia Corridor along Gaza’s border with Egypt and the Netzarim East-West Corridor across the territory. Hamas is demanding a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
Netanyahu insists on the principle that Israel will control the Philadelphia corridor, with the aim of preventing Hamas from rearming itself and repeating the atrocities of the October 7 attack on Israel. He also denied reports that Israel would be willing to accept an international force in the corridor.
Hamas said on Friday that Netanyahu was “blocking any chance of reaching a ceasefire agreement.”
According to an Egyptian government statement, al-Sisi stressed in his talks with Biden that Israel and Hamas must show flexibility to fulfill the agreement, in order to save the region from the threat of an expansion of the conflict.
Asked if Netanyahu was negotiating in good faith, Kirby said, Biden had “constructive” talks with Netanyahu on Wednesday,
“We’re in Cairo. They’re in Cairo,” Kirby said. “We need Hamas’ participation. We need to finalize these details. And that’s what we’re focused on here.”
The war began with an attack on Israel by Hamas and other militants on October 7, which killed about 1,200 people – most of them civilians – and kidnapped about 250. The Israeli attack launched in response has caused even more damage to Israel. Over 40,000 Palestinians killed According to the local health ministry, no distinction is made between terrorists and civilians in Gaza.
Last week, Biden said he was “optimistic” a deal could be reached after speaking by phone with Egypt’s president and the emir of Qatar. The call followed a round of talks in Doha that White House officials said had raised hopes an agreement was near.
But until Tuesday, Biden had been noticeably quiet about the prospects of the two sides reaching a deal soon. After delivering a speech at the Democratic convention, he told reporters that “Hamas is retreating now” but that the U.S. would “keep trying” to reach a ceasefire agreement.
In a call with Netanyahu on Wednesday, Biden “emphasized the urgent need to finalize a ceasefire and hostage release agreement,” according to the White House.
Biden also made it clear to Netanyahu that both Hamas and Israel must compromise, according to a person familiar with the leaders’ talks who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private conversation.
Meanwhile, families of Israeli hostages said they met with Netanyahu on Friday to “understand what could be even more important than freeing their loved ones”, expressing their anger at his failure to sign a ceasefire deal that would see their loved ones released from Hamas captivity.
Representatives of the Hostage Family Forum, a group representing relatives of hostages, said Netanyahu reiterated his commitment to do everything in his power to bring their family members back alive. More than 100 Israeli hostages remain in Gaza, dozens of whom are feared dead.
“The word ‘alive’ limits it to a certain time frame,” said Yizhar Lifshitz, the son of hostage Oded Lifshitz, whose mother was abducted and freed by Hamas last October. The revelation on Thursday that autopsies found gunshot wounds on the bodies of six detainees — recovered by Israeli troops from an underground tunnel in southern Gaza — has increased domestic pressure on Netanyahu to agree to a ceasefire that could save the detainees’ lives.
Ella Ben Ami, the daughter of Israeli hostage Ohad Ben Ami, said she returned from her meeting with Netanyahu “with a heavy and difficult feeling that this is not going to happen soon, and I fear for my father’s life, for the girls there and for everyone.”