Talks began on Thursday afternoon in Doha, Qatar, in what has been billed the "Last Chance Summit," to secure a cease-fire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas.
U.S. National Security Spokesperson John Kirby said the talks would continue into the weekend. “This is vital work. Remaining obstacles can be overcome, and we must bring this process to a close,” he said. “We need to see the hostages released, relief for Palestinian civilians in Gaza, security for Israel and lower tensions in the region, and we need to see those things as soon as possible.”
2 View gallery
Abbas Kamel, Mohammed bin Al Thani, William Burns, David Barnea, Ronen Bar
(Photo: EPA, AP, Karim Jaafar /AFP,Yarir Sagi, Yariv Katz )
Israel's delegation includes spy chief David Barnea, head of the domestic security service Ronen Bar, and the military's hostages chief Nitzan Alon, defense officials said on Wednesday.
CIA Director Bill Burns and U.S. Middle East envoy Brett McGurk represented Washington at the talks, convened by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, with Egypt's intelligence chief Abbas Kamel also in Doha.
A source in the Israeli negotiating team said on Wednesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has allowed significant leeway on a few of the substantial disputes.
Gaps include the presence of Israeli troops in Gaza, the sequencing of a hostage release and restrictions on access to northern Gaza.
In the lead-up to Thursday's talks, Hamas, which rejects any U.S. or Israeli intervention in shaping the "day after" the war in Gaza, told mediators that if Israel made a "serious" proposal that is in line with Hamas' previous proposals the group would continue to engage in negotiations.
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters on Thursday that the group is committed to the negotiation process and urged mediators to secure Israel's commitment to a proposal Hamas agreed to in early July, which he said would end the war and required a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.