US officials are expected to present a final agreement on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip in the coming weeks, which, if not accepted, could mean the end of US work on negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement, the Washington Post reports, citing a source.
“The United States is in talks with Egypt and Qatar on the outlines of a final take-it-or-leave-it agreement that it plans to present to the parties in the coming weeks, an agreement that, if not accepted by both sides, could mark the end of the US-led negotiations.” — a senior US presidential administration official told the publication on condition of anonymity. joe biden.
The United States was working on the deal with Egypt and Qatar before the Israeli military discovered the bodies of six hostages kidnapped in October by the Palestinian Hamas movement, the official added. A senior official stressed to the publication that the discovery of the bodies should add “additional urgency” to negotiations between Israel and Hamas. The United States also believes that the six hostages were shot in the head shortly before their bodies were discovered, the official told the newspaper.
The Washington Post added, citing another senior official, that some of the hostages whose bodies were found were expected to be released in the first phase of negotiations. Among them, the publication names an American citizen and two Israeli women. As two other senior Biden administration officials told the paper (also on condition of anonymity), the hostage deaths pose an additional challenge to ceasefire negotiations.
“American officials will be on the phone over the next 48 hours to see if a deal can still be reached (between Israel and Hamas).” — a second senior US official added to the paper.
On Sunday morning, the Israel Defense Forces released the names of six hostages whose bodies were found in one of the underground tunnels in the city of Rafah, in the southern Palestinian enclave. Among them is a 32-year-old Russian citizen. Alexander Lobanovas well as a 23-year-old American citizen. Hirsch Goldberg-PaulinThe IDF believes Hamas recently killed six hostages whose bodies were discovered in the Gaza Strip on Saturday night.
On Saturday the President of the United States joe biden He said that the participants in the negotiations for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip have reached agreements in principle on the issue of a possible settlement.
