WASHINGTON: Negotiations for a cease-fire agreement and the release of hostages in Gaza are in their “final stages”, a US official said on Wednesday, ahead of talks between US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Biden will try to close some “final gaps” in his talks with Netanyahu at the White House on Thursday, but key elements, including the fate of the hostages, remain in Hamas' court, the senior administration official said.
“We think it's in the final stages and a deal can be closed,” the US official said on condition of anonymity in a call previewing Netanyahu's visit.
There would be “a lot of activity in the coming week” to reach a long-sought agreement, the official said, adding that a deal “was not only possible, it is important and necessary.”
The US official downplayed a fiery speech to Congress by Netanyahu on Wednesday in which he promised “total victory” and said talks with Biden would be focused more on the mechanics of a deal.
A possible cease-fire now hinges on a handful of questions about how a deal would go into effect, with Hamas easing its demand for a full Israeli withdrawal, the official said.
“I don't expect the meeting (with Netanyahu) to be a yes or no, it's more like 'how do we close these final gaps?' And there are some things we need from the Israeli side, no question,” the official said .
“But there are also some important things that are only in the hands of Hamas because the hostages are in the hands of Hamas.”
A Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 resulted in the deaths of 1,197 people in Israel, most of them civilians, according to an AFP report based on official Israeli figures.
Of 251 people taken hostage that day, 114 are still being held in the Gaza Strip, including 42 the military says are dead.
More than 39,100 Palestinians, including most civilians, have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the war broke out, according to the health ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza.
