Gaza ceasefire talk swirls as officials push for deal

WASHINGTON: Uncertainty surrounded Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s whereabouts on Tuesday after sources briefed on talks about a Gaza ceasefire said he was travelling to Cairo but his office said he was on the northern border with Syria.

The sources said a ceasefire deal could be signed in coming days that would end the fighting and free hostages held by the Islamist movement Hamas in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

Hamas issued a statement saying a deal was possible if Israel stopped setting new conditions.

A statement from Netanyahu’s office said the prime minister had a meeting on Tuesday with senior military and security officials on Mount Hermon, a strategic plateau just inside Syria.

The prime minister’s office did not respond to questions about Netanyahu’s whereabouts. He had been excused on Tuesday from giving previously scheduled testimony at his corruption trial.

Two Egyptian security sources said that Netanyahu was not in Cairo “at this moment” but that a meeting was under way to work through the remaining points, chief among them a Hamas demand for guarantees that any immediate deal would lead to a comprehensive agreement later.

The Egyptian sources said they were making progress and felt that Tuesday night could be decisive in setting next steps.

US and Israeli officials have been expressing growing optimism that negotiations brokered by Egypt and Qatar could produce a deal by the end of the month but have also cautioned that the talks could fall through.

“We believe - and the Israelis have said this - that we’re getting closer, and no doubt about it, we believe that, but we also are cautious in our optimism,” White House spokesperson John Kirby said in an interview with Fox News.

“We’ve been in this position before where we weren’t able to get it over the finish line.” Israeli negotiators were in Doha on Monday looking to bridge gaps between Israel and Hamas on a deal US President Joe Biden outlined on May 31.

There have been repeated rounds of talks, all of which have ended in failure with Israel insisting on retaining a military presence in Gaza and Hamas refusing to release hostages until the troops pulled out.