Cairo. Hamas said on Wednesday it would not take part in a new round of Gaza ceasefire talks scheduled for Thursday in Qatar, but an official briefed on the talks said mediators hoped to consult with the Palestinian group afterwards.
The United States has said it expects indirect talks to go ahead as planned in the Qatari capital Doha on Thursday and that a ceasefire deal was still possible.
However, Axios reported that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has postponed a trip to the Middle East that was scheduled to begin on Tuesday.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that CIA Director Bill Burns and U.S. Middle East envoy Brett McGurk will represent Washington at Thursday’s talks in Qatar.
Three senior Iranian officials have said that only a ceasefire agreement in Gaza would prevent Iran from taking direct retaliation against Israel for the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on its soil last month.
“Israel will send the negotiating team on the agreed date, that is, tomorrow (Thursday) August 15, to finalize the details of the implementation of the framework agreement,” said government spokesman David Mencer at a press conference.
The delegation includes Israeli spy chief David Barnea, national security service chief Ronen Bar and military hostage chief Nitzan Alon, a defense official said.
Hamas has expressed skepticism about the talks, accusing Israel of dragging out the issue. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has been the main obstacle to reaching a deal.
“Going to a new negotiation allows the occupation to impose new conditions and use the labyrinth of negotiation to carry out more massacres,” senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters.
Hamas’ absence from the talks does not rule out the chances of progress, as its chief negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, is based in Doha and the group has open channels with Egypt and Qatar.
“Hamas is committed to the proposal presented to it on July 2, which is based on the UN Security Council resolution and Biden’s speech, and the movement is ready to immediately begin discussions on a mechanism to implement it,” Abu Zuhri added.
Fighting has continued in Gaza, where residents of the southern city of Khan Younis said Israeli forces destroyed homes in the east and intensified tank shelling of areas east of the city center.
A ceasefire deal would aim to end fighting in Gaza and secure the release of Israeli hostages held in the enclave in exchange for many Palestinians jailed by Israel, but the two sides remain divided over sequencing and other issues.
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– 2024-08-17 16:13:55
