US, Israeli negotiators to discuss Gaza ceasefire deal in Doha

DOHA – US and Israeli negotiators will gather in Doha in the coming days to try to restart talks towards a deal for a ceasefire and the release of hostages in Gaza, Qatar and Washington’s top diplomats said on Oct 24.

Qatar and Egypt have acted as mediators between Israel and and the Palestinian militant group Hamas in months of talks that broke down in August without an agreement to end fighting that began when Hamas launched attacks on southern Israel on Oct 7, 2023.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken travelled to the Middle East this week hoping to revive the talks following the

death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar

, who Washington says was the main obstacle to a deal.

“We talked about options to capitalise on this moment and next steps to move the process forward,” Mr Blinken told reporters after talks with Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.

“I anticipate that our negotiators will be getting together in the coming days,” he said.

Mr Blinken said it had not yet been determined whether Hamas was prepared to engage in new negotiations, but he urged the group to do so.

He declined to say who would be present at the Doha talks but said Washington was talking to both Qatari and Egyptian mediators about “different options” for restarting the talks.

“Going back to the negotiations on ceasefire and the hostages, one of the things we’re doing is looking at whether there are different options that we can pursue to get us to a conclusion, to get us to a result,” Mr Blinken said.

Since killing Sinwar last week, Israel has pressed on with intensive operations in northern Gaza, in what Palestinians and UN agencies fear could be an attempt to seal off the north from the rest of the enclave.

Sheikh Mohammed said Israeli officials were set to travel to Doha for the upcoming talks and he expected negotiations to pick up on a proposal discussed in the last round of talks.

Qatari officials have also met officials in Hamas’ political office in Doha in the last couple of days, he said.

“Until now, there is no clarity (on) what will be the way forward,” he said.

Hamas has not yet named a successor to Sinwar, who was appointed leader after Israel

assassinated the former chief Ismail Haniyeh

in July

Egypt is separately engaged in discussions with Hamas, Sheikh Mohammed said, adding that he hoped those talks will yield something positive. REUTERS