The US, sensing opportunities, is once again pushing for a ceasefire in Gaza
US officials said Israel is now proposing a 60-day pause in fighting in exchange for a phased release of hostages. According to American officials, that proposal could provide a basis for renewed talks. The news of Mr. Burns' trip was previously reported by TheWashingtonPost.
The Biden administration is eager to strike a deal that will halt fighting for longer than the weeklong pause that began in November and provide some breathing room to figure out what comes next.
The talks are expected to begin amid tensions between Israel and Qatar, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused this week of damaging efforts to free the hostages after a leaked recording caught him criticizing the country.
In a recording broadcast on Israeli television on Tuesday, a voice that appears to be Netanyahu's calls Qatar's role as a mediator “problematic” because of its relationship with Hamas and criticizes the United States for expanding its military presence in Qatar.
“If validated, these comments are irresponsible and destructive to efforts to save innocent lives, but are not surprising,” Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari said in a statement. statement on social media on Wednesday.
He said that if the comments were confirmed, Mr Netanyahu would “obstruct and undermine the mediation process, for reasons that appear to serve his political career, rather than prioritizing saving innocent lives, including Israeli hostages.”
Mr Netanyahu did not respond publicly to Qatar's comments.
Israel's prime minister said on Sunday he would not accept a permanent ceasefire deal that would leave Hamas in control of Gaza. He is under pressure from his government's right wing to take more aggressive military action in Gaza, even as a debate arises over the feasibility of both wiping out Hamas and negotiating the release of the hostages.
About 240 people were taken hostage during the October 7 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, which killed an estimated 1,200 people. Israel has responded with a furious attack in Gaza in a war that has killed more than 25,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry. According to the Israelis, more than a hundred people are still being held captive in Gaza.
On Thursday, families of some hostages tried to prevent aid from entering Gaza at a border crossing as Gazans waiting for aid in the enclave were killed in a strike, according to local health officials. Photos from the Kerem Shalom border crossing between Israel and Gaza showed a small group of protesters holding signs with the faces of hostages.