Biden expressed optimism about a cease-fire and hostage release deal during an unrelated public event Friday.
“We’re much, much closer than we were three days ago,” the president said of the negotiations in Doha.
In a statement, Hamas cast doubt on the latest round of talks, saying Israel was not committed to withdrawing its troops from Gaza — including the Philadelphi Corridor that borders Egypt — and that Israeli officials are insisting on vetoing certain prisoners from being released.
Another sticking point is the transfer of armed Palestinians to the north of Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s office released a statement saying its core demands were well known and that it hoped mediators would pressure Hamas to accept them.
But in a joint Friday statement, Biden, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Qatari Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani said the negotiations this week were “serious and constructive.”
The trio said a final bridging proposal was presented, and negotiators would convene in Cairo before the end of next week to seal the deal.
“The path is now set [to bring] relief to the people of Gaza, and de-escalating regional tensions,” the joint statement said.
The deal, proposed by Biden in May and backed by the United Nations, is expected to free the 115 people, including eight Americans, held by Hamas in Gaza in return for a cease-fire.
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The first phase of the deal includes releasing the most vulnerable hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, along with a temporary cease-fire and pullback of Israeli troops from populated areas.
- The second phase involves freeing the remaining hostages for a permanent cease-fire.
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The final round would see the return of the remains of hostages and a plan to rebuild Gaza, where more than 40,000 people have died in 10 months of war between Israel and Hamas.
The negotiations now are for the first phase, and talks would continue through each of the phases.
The White House has been stressing that a deal is close for weeks now, with only implementation details left to work out.
Negotiations have continued as the war continues to rage in Gaza and as Iran has threatened to retaliate against Israel for a July 31 bombing that killed the top Hamas leader in Tehran. Iran has reportedly held off amid the Doha talks.
Read the full report at TheHill.com.
