Jerusalem:
Israelis and Palestinians are signaling new efforts to reach a ceasefire deal for the first time in a year, even a limited one, that would pause fighting in Gaza and return some of the hostages still held in the Palestinian enclave to Israel.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz told his US counterpart Lloyd Austin in a phone call on Wednesday that there was now a chance for a new deal that would allow the return of all hostages, including US citizens, his office said. Katz.
However, a Western diplomat in the region said a deal was taking shape but would likely be limited in scope and involve only the release of a handful of hostages and a brief pause in hostilities.
Such a ceasefire and release would be only the second since the war began in October 2023.
The guarded optimism is evident as US President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, heads to Israel on Thursday for talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and then to Egypt and Qatar, which are brokering an agreement with the US.
In addition, newly elected President Donald Trump has demanded that militants from the Palestinian Hamas group release hostages held in Gaza before he takes power from Mr Biden on January 20. Otherwise, Mr. Trump has said, there will be “hell to pay.”
Trump-appointed hostage envoy Adam Boehler has said he is also involved, having already spoken to Mr Biden and Mr Netanyahu. Israel says 100 hostages are still trapped in Gaza. Seven are believed to be US citizens.
Referring to Trump’s threat of “hell to pay,” Boehler told Israel’s Channel 13 News last week: “I would like to appeal to the people who took hostages: make your best deal now.” Make it now, because every day that passes, things go wrong. It will become increasingly difficult and more Hamas lives will be lost.”
Although Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump are working separately, their efforts overlap and both stand to gain from a deal. A US official said Trump’s public statements about the need for a quick ceasefire “have not been harmful.”
The official said the priority is to get the hostages home, whether at the end of Biden’s term or the beginning of Trump’s term.
Steve Witkoff, Trump’s designated Middle East envoy, met separately with Netanyahu and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in late November, a source briefed on the talks said.
TIMING IS SUITABLE FOR NETANYAHU
The timing for an agreement may never have been better politically for Netanyahu.
The prime minister told reporters on Monday that Hamas’s increasing isolation following the collapse of Syrian President Hafez al-Assad’s rule opened the door to a possible hostage deal, although it was too early to claim success.
Israel’s military chief and the head of Shin Bet’s internal security service were in Cairo on Tuesday to discuss post-war border crossings and Gaza’s governance, according to three Israeli security sources.
The public optimism of Israeli leaders over the past week matches the general tone of internal discussions behind closed doors, an Israeli official said.
For Netanyahu, concessions would be much easier now that Israel has restored its reputation as the most powerful military force in the Middle East and its Iranian-backed enemies in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria are now less threatening.
Netanyahu’s once fragile coalition has been strengthened by the addition of Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and his more centrist faction. Mr Netanyahu, who has reached a ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon, can complete the picture with the return of the hostages in a deal with Hamas.
Over the past year, some far-right ministers in his cabinet had raised objections and even threatened to topple the government if the war in Gaza ended. But now that Israel’s enemies have been weakened and his coalition strengthened, Netanyahu is far less politically vulnerable.
Mr. Saar said on Monday that Israel is now more optimistic about a possible hostage deal, amid reports that Hamas had asked other Gaza factions to help draw up a list of Israeli and foreign hostages in its custody, whether they be dead or alive.
A Palestinian official close to the talks and familiar with the positions of all parties involved described what he called “a fever of negotiations” with ideas emerging on all sides, including among mediators in Egypt and Qatar.
Trump’s involvement had given a boost to the talks, even though the sides have not yet presented lists of Palestinian prisoners and hostages to be exchanged or complete plans for a temporary or phased ceasefire, the Palestinian official said.
He said Hamas is willing to show some flexibility if there are guarantees that Israel will not resume fighting.
It is unclear how the parties can bridge the largest rift that has remained after numerous failed negotiations; Hamas demands an end to the war, while Israel says the war will not end until Hamas no longer rules Gaza.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken left for Jordan and Turkey on Wednesday for talks on Syria, the State Department said. Israel isn’t on his official itinerary, but there’s always a possibility he might add the stop.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)