US aims to use Israel-Hamas deal to open more lasting regional peace talks

By Iain Marlow

The US hopes a fresh hostage deal between Israel and Hamas will create the space for talks to achieve a more lasting regional peace agreement, a State Department official said Friday, offering a longer-term vision for the Biden administration as its negotiators criss-cross the region in search of a breakthrough.

Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns, who helped hammer out a previous deal to release Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip, is set to join fresh talks on the hostage deal in the coming days. That would follow work by White House Middle East coordinator, Brett McGurk, to win the release of almost all the remaining hostages held by Hamas in exchange for a cease-fire that could last at least two months.

The senior State Department official, who asked not to be identified discussing private conversations, said Secretary of State Antony Blinken had spoken recently to McGurk and Burns about the talks. 

The ideal outcome would be for a cease-fire to open space for talks on issues Blinken raised during his most recent trip to to the Middle East, which includes normalization talks between Israel and other countries in the region, as well as a multinational plan for reconstruction in Gaza after the Israeli military campaign ends.

Negotiators between Israel and Hamas have put forward a detailed proposal to both sides for a permanent cease-fire, according to two people with knowledge of the talks, though many obstacles remain. The proposal has been sent to Hamas and Israel via Qatar, which has been mediating between the sides with the backing of the US. 

The White House highlighted the broad terms of the deal in a statement recapping President Joe Biden’s conversation Friday with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, saying that they both “affirmed that all efforts must now be made to conclude a deal that would result in the release of all hostages together with a prolonged humanitarian pause in the fighting.” Biden also spoke with Qatari leader Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani.

US officials have declined to offer public details about the talks. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Friday that McGurk is returning from the region after “a good set of discussions” with regional counterparts. 

“We continue to do everything we can to facilitate another hostage deal,” Kirby said. “We should not expect any imminent developments.”

Behind the conversations is a growing sense of disquiet within the administration about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who continues to reject US and allied insistence that the Palestinians get their own state. Netanyahu also riled Qatar after Israeli television aired a voice it said was his saying Qatar’s role in the hostage talks was problematic because of its ties to Hamas.

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has had pointed discussions with Israeli officials about Netanyahu’s stance, and it’s not clear how much longer the US will be able to give him unalloyed support, according to two people familiar with the situation. 

The plan calls for the release of all hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, which also killed 1,200 people, and the transfer of remains of any dead hostages. The move is intended to end a war that has killed more than 25,000 Palestinians, according to Hamas-run authorities, and reduced much of Gaza to rubble.