UPDATED: US submits Egypt-Qatar-backed proposal to narrow Israel-Hamas gaps: Joint statement

CAIRO – August 16, 2024: The United States on Friday put forth a proposal endorsed by Egypt and Qatar aimed at "bridging the remaining gaps" between Israel and Hamas, as senior officials engaged in two days of discussions in Doha on Gaza ceasefire.

A joint statement issued by the three countries highlighted that the fresh bridging proposal, presented to both parties, builds upon the consensus points reached in the preceding week. It focuses on narrowing the remaining disparities to facilitate the swift execution of the deal.

In the upcoming days, working teams will continue their technical work in refining the implementation details, encompassing arrangements for executing the comprehensive humanitarian provisons of the agreement, along with specifics related to the release of captives and prisoners, the statement outlined.

Furthermore, the senior officials from the governments of the three nations are slated to convene in Cairo next week with the objective of finalizing an agreement based on the present conditions.

The statement underlined that the new proposal is consistent with the principles articulated by US President Joe Biden on May 31 and United Nations Security Council Resolution 2735.

The statement affirmed that the talks over the past two days were “serious, constructive, and conducted in a positive atmosphere.”

The statement echoed the remarks of the leaders of the three countries last week, affirming that “there is no further time to waste nor excuses from any party for further delay.”

The three leaders jointly stressed last week that it is time to release the captives held in Gaza and the detainees, begin the ceasefire in the enclave, and implement an agreement.

"The path is now set for that outcome, saving lives, bringing relief to the people of Gaza, and de-escalating regional tensions," read the statement.

Top negotiators from Egypt, Qatar, Israel and the United States held talks in the Qatari capital on Thursday and Friday as per a joint call by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and President Biden.

The talks have aimed to secure a ceasefire in Gaza after 10 months of Israeli strikes on the enclave, killing over 40,000 people, injuring more than 92,000, displacing most of Gaza's 2.2 million inhabitants, and pushing the enclave toward a looming threat of famine.

The war was triggered by a Hamas attack on Israeli communities near Gaza on October 7, during which Palestinian fighters captured around 250 Israelis and foreign nationals.

In November, a prisoner exchange brokered by Egypt, Qatar, and the US resulted in the release of about 100 Israeli captives in return for about 240 Palestinian prisoners.

Israel managed to rescue seven captives in Gaza over the past months. However, unrelenting Israeli strikes have led to the deaths of some of the roughly 100 captives still held in Gaza.

Mounting escalation

The stepped-up efforts to reach a ceasefire also arrive against the backdrop of an increasingly turbulent regional climate.

Israel and the US are on high alert for imminent retaliatory actions from Iran against Israeli targets following the recent assassinations of senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut and Hamas political bureau leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran by Israeli forces.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has vowed severe repercussions for Israel at an appropriate time and place for Shukr's killing, indicating that Hezbollah's attacks may extend beyond military targets.

Heightened tensions have been exacerbated by warnings from Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen, both supported by Iran and longstanding adversaries of Israel, threatening severe repercussions in response to the recent killings.

In their joint statement last week, the leaders of Egypt, Qatar and the US called for both Hamas and Israel to join the negotiations “to bring immediate relief both to the long-suffering people of Gaza as well as the long-suffering hostages and their families.”

Hamas opted out of the talks, citing a lack of good-faith negotiations from the Israeli government to broker a deal.

Ahmed Abdul Hadi, Hamas's representative in Lebanon, conveyed this week that the movement's leadership perceives Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's intentions as prolonging the war and expanding it regionally.