U.S. and Israeli negotiators to travel to Doha with hopes of resuming Gaza cease-fire talks
U.S. and Israeli negotiators will travel to Doha in the coming days, the top diplomats for U.S. and Qatar said Thursday, intending to resume long-stalled ceasefire talks.
U.S. and Israeli negotiators will travel to Doha in the coming days, the top diplomats for U.S. and Qatar said Thursday, intending to resume long-stalled talks to reach a cease-fire deal and secure the release of hostages in Gaza.
Israeli forces killed Yahya Sinwar, the head of Hamas, this month, and the militant group continues its search for a new leader. The Biden administration believes Sinwar was the main obstacle to an agreement, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to the region this week hoping to achieve a breakthrough.
“We have an opportunity today to talk about the way forward, the effort to bring the hostages home and to get a cease-fire,” Blinken said at a news conference in Doha with Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. “We talked about options to capitalize and make steps to move the process forward, and I anticipate that negotiators will be getting together in the coming days.”
Blinken acknowledged it was not immediately clear whether Hamas was prepared to engage but said the U.S. is in conversations with their intermediaries Egypt and Qatar about “whether there are different options that we can pursue” to reach an agreement.
Among the options is an Egyptian proposal, previously reported by NBC News, for a two-week cease-fire in exchange for the release of six hostages.
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