Two days of negotiations in Doha failed to end Gaza woe caused by a Zionist genocidal war ongoing for the 315th consecutive day despite the various political statements and media reports which claim a remarkable progress in this regard.
Political and security officials representing Qatar, Egypt, US and ‘Israel’ met amid the absence of Hamas representatives in order to mull a US truce proposal.
The U.S. presented a new bridging proposal to Israel and Hamas on Friday in an effort to close the remaining gaps in the Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, the U.S., Qatar and Egypt claimed in a joint statement.
US President Joe Biden told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday that “we are closer to a deal than we have ever been,” adding he doesn’t want “to jinx” it but “we might have something there.” Biden said, “we are not there yet but we are closer than we were three days ago.”
Biden also spoke on the phone with the Emir of Qatar and the President of Egypt on Friday about the deal.
The U.S., Qatar and Egypt said in the statement that the talks over the last two days in Doha “were serious and constructive and were conducted in a positive atmosphere.”
“The U.S. with support from Egypt and Qatar, presented to both parties a bridging proposal that is consistent with the principles laid out by President Biden on May 31, 2024 and Security Council Resolution No. 2735,” they said.
“This proposal builds on areas of agreement over the past week, and bridges remaining gaps in the manner that allows for a swift implementation of the deal.”
A source with knowledge of the talks told Axios: “We got more progress over the last two days than the last six weeks combined.”
Working teams from the U.S., Qatar, Egypt and Israel will continue technical work over the coming days on the details of implementation of the deal, the statement said.
According to the statement, the issues that still need to be concluded are the arrangements for extensive humanitarian provisions to Gaza and the specifics relating to the hostages and Palestinian prisoners who will be released as part of the deal.
Another summit between the senior mediators and negotiators — CIA director Bill Burns, the Qatari prime minister, director of the Israeli Mossad and the Egyptian head of intelligence — will take place in Cairo before the end of next week “with the aim to conclude the deal under the terms put forward today,” the statement said.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to travel to the region on the weekend to continue pushing for a deal, sources briefed on the trip said.
On Sunday, Blinken is expected to land in Israel and meet Prime Minister Netanyahu on Monday, the Israeli Prime Minister’s office said.
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