A day after Israel and Hezbollah traded major cross-border attacks but swiftly moved to contain a bigger war, the focus in the Middle East returned on Monday to the effort to achieve a cease-fire in Gaza, where Israel’s 10-month-long war with Hamas is at the heart of rising regional tensions.
Four days of talks concluded on Sunday with no breakthrough, after senior Israeli and Hamas officials arrived in Cairo to meet with mediators. Despite a full-bore diplomatic push from the Biden administration, the two sides remain far apart on several critical issues, including Israeli demands to retain a military presence along Gaza’s border with Egypt. Both Hamas and Egypt, which is mediating the talks along with Qatar and the United States, oppose those demands.
One U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive negotiations, said the senior-level talks in Cairo were constructive, and would continue with working-group discussions in the coming days. Hamas officials, as usual, did not participate in the meetings with Israeli and U.S. officials.
Negotiators in Cairo were working to refine an American proposal presented last week in Doha, Qatar, aimed at bridging key gaps between the two sides. The so-called bridging proposal builds on an earlier framework outlined by President Biden in May, and includes various amendments aimed at resolving the differences between Hamas and Israel, people briefed on the talks have said.
Under the proposal, the first phase would see a six-week cease-fire and the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinians detained by Israel. People displaced from northern Gaza would be able to return to their homes, many of which lie in ruins. During that time, Israeli forces would withdraw from populated areas of Gaza.
The second phase envisions a permanent cease-fire, while the third consists of a multiyear reconstruction plan for Gaza and the return of the remains of deceased hostages.
On Thursday, Israeli officials met with those from the United States and Egypt. On Friday, the U.S. and Egyptian teams held a bilateral consultation to strategize ahead of the talks.
Egyptian and Qatari negotiators then met with Hamas to walk through the bridging proposal paragraph by paragraph. The Hamas negotiators highlighted points of disagreement, which were brought to Egyptian, Qatari, American and Israeli negotiators on Sunday.
The technical level discussions are meant to continue this week in Cairo, with the aim of getting to an agreement that can be implemented.
American officials declined to outline the points of disagreement in detail, arguing that negotiating in public could only complicate matters.
But among the most difficult issues remaining, another American official said, is whether Israeli forces will remain on the Gaza side of the border with Egypt, and if so, how many. Israeli officials have reduced their demands in recent days, agreeing to accept a fewer number of checkpoints. But both Egypt and Hamas — which wants a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza — have been skeptical of any Israeli military presence on Gaza’s southern border.