The White House said Thursday that the latest Gaza cease-fire talks in Doha, Qatar, with top U.S. officials are off to a “promising start” but that closing a deal immediately appeared to be unlikely.
“Today is a promising start,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters. “There remains a lot of work to do. Given the complexity of the agreement, we do not anticipate coming out of these talks today with a deal,” he added.
The talks are expected to continue through Friday. CIA Director William Burns is among those in attendance.
Negotiators from the United States, Egypt and Qatar met with a delegation from Israel. Hamas said Wednesday it would not take part in the talks, but representatives might meet with mediators later, the Reuters news agency reported.
Palestinian health officials said more than 40,000 people have died in Israel's campaign in retaliation for the 1,200 people killed and 250 people captured by Hamas during a surprise attack on Israel on October 7. More than 100 hostages are still held in captivity. Palestinian officials say the war casualties are mostly women and children, while Israel says the majority are combatants.
“Remaining obstacles can be overcome, and we must bring this process to a close,” Kirby 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.”
Without specifying details, Kirby said that the negotiations are mainly concerned with implementation now that the framework has largely been accepted.
The stakes are high.
In addition to ongoing fighting in Gaza and the West Bank, Israel and Hezbollah have been trading fire on the border with Lebanon. Commercial shipping remains under attack by Yemen-based Houthi fighters in the Red Sea, and Iran has threatened retaliation against Israel for the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last month. Although Israel did not claim responsibility for the killing, it is widely blamed for Haniyeh’s death.
Additionally, a Hezbollah military commander was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut recently.
Three senior Iranian officials have said a cease-fire deal in Gaza would be the only thing preventing retaliation for the killing, Reuters reported.
The plan being discussed in Doha began as a three-phase “road map” to a truce unveiled by U.S. President Joe Biden May 31. The proposal calls for a six-week cease-fire, withdrawing Israeli troops from populated areas in Gaza, and releasing women, elderly and wounded hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Humanitarian aid would increase, and Palestinians would be able to return to their homes.
The six-week cease-fire would lead to the second phase, which would involve the release of all hostages and Israel’s complete withdrawal from Gaza. The cease-fire would become permanent.
The reconstruction of Gaza would be the third phase.
Fighting continues as talks get under way.
On Thursday, the health ministry in the West Bank said Israeli troops killed two Palestinians in an airstrike on a refugee camp. Seven people were wounded. The Israeli military reported two armed militants who posed a threat to security forces in the area were killed.
Material from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse was used in this report.
