Gaza ceasefire talks paused with resumption planned next week

Gaza ceasefire talks in Doha paused on Friday with negotiators to meet again next week seeking an agreement to end fighting between Israel and Hamas and free remaining hostages, as U.S. President Joe Biden said “we’re not there yet”.

In a joint statement, the U.S., Qatar and Egypt said Washington had presented a new proposal that built on points of agreement over the past week, closing gaps in a way that could allow rapid implementation of a deal. Mediators would keep working on the proposal, they said.

“The path is now set for that outcome, saving lives, bringing relief to the people of Gaza, and de-escalating regional tensions,” they said in the statement.

On Thursday, Israel and mediators began the latest round in months of talks to end the war in Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians. Palestinian militant group Hamas was not directly involved but was kept briefed on the talks.

Biden says deal ‘much, much closer’

In Washington, Biden said a deal was “much, much closer” than before the talks began. A senior administration official said the latest negotiations were the most productive in months, and negotiators will reconvene next week in Cairo hoping to conclude it.

“It was consensus of all of the participants over the past 48 hours that there’s really a new spirit here to drive it to a conclusion,” the official told reporters on the condition of anonymity. “The Israeli team that was here was empowered…We made a lot of progress in the number of issues that we’ve been working on,” the official said.

Biden said in a statement he had directed his negotiating team to put forward the comprehensive bridging proposal presented on Friday, which he said offers the basis for a final agreement on a ceasefire and hostage release deal.

The U.S. president said he spoke with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who he said expressed strong support for the U.S. proposal. Teams will remain on the ground to continue technical work and senior officials will convene in Cairo “before the end of the week,” he said.