Ceasefire talks in the Gaza Strip were paused in Doha today, and negotiators will meet again next week to seek an agreement to end fighting between Israel and Hamas and free the remaining hostages, mediators said.
The US, Qatar and Egypt said in a joint statement that Washington presented a new proposal based on the points agreed during the past week.
This is an attempt to close the gap between the parties in a way that could allow the rapid implementation of the agreement.
Mediators will continue to work on the proposal in the coming days, the sources said.
“The path has now been laid for such an outcome, to save lives, to bring relief to the people of Gaza and achieve de-escalation of regional tensions,” the statement said.
An Israeli official said his delegation was returning home from Doha later in the day and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was expected to meet with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on Monday.
A new round of months-long negotiations to end the war in the Gaza Strip, in which tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed, began yesterday between Israel and mediators. The Palestinian militant group Hamas was not directly involved in the talks, but was informed of progress.
Points of contention are Israel’s insistence that peace is only possible if Hamas is destroyed and Hamas’ announcement that it will only accept a permanent, not a temporary, cease-fire.
