(corrects the name of the Syrian leader in point 13)
By Mayan Lubell and Nidal Al-Mughrabi
JERUSALEM/CAIRO (Reuters) – Israelis and Palestinians are marking renewed efforts to strike an even limited ceasefire, the first in over a year, that would halt fighting in Gaza and return to Israel some of the hostages still being held. Palestinian enclave.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz told his US counterpart Lloyd Austin in a phone call on Wednesday that there is now a chance for a new deal that would allow the return of all hostages, including US citizens, Katz’s office said.
However, a Western diplomat in the region said a deal was in the works, but it was likely to be limited, involving only the release of a few hostages and a brief pause in hostilities.
Such a truce and release would be only the second since the war began in October 2023.
The guarded optimism comes as US President Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan travels to Israel for talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, and then to Egypt and Qatar, which are co-mediators of the deal with the US.
Separately, President-elect Donald Trump demanded that militants from the Palestinian Hamas group release the hostages seized by Biden on January 20 in Gaza.
Trump’s ambassador-for-hostage nominee, Adam Boehler, said he is also involved and has already spoken to Biden and Netanyahu. According to Israel, 100 hostages remain captive in Gaza. Seven are US citizens.
Citing Trump’s threat that “hell will pay,” Boehler told Israel’s Channel 13 last week: “I would say to the people who took the hostages: Make your best deal now. Make it now, because every day that goes by, it’s going to get more And it will get harder and more Hamas lives will be lost.”
Although Biden and Trump are working separately, their efforts overlap and both will benefit from the deal. A US official said Trump’s public statements about the need for a quick ceasefire “were not harmful”.
The official said the priority is getting the hostages home, whether it’s at the end of Biden’s term or the beginning of Trump’s term.
Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Middle East envoy, met separately with Netanyahu and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in late November, a source with knowledge of the talks said.
The time is right for Netanyahu
The timing of the deal may never have been better politically for Netanyahu.
The prime minister told reporters on Monday that the growing isolation of Hamas since the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had opened the door to a possible deal with the hostages, even if it was too early to claim success.
Israel’s military chief and the head of the Shin Bet’s internal security service were in Cairo on Tuesday to discuss post-war Gaza border crossings and administration, three Israeli security sources said.
According to an Israeli official, the public optimism of Israeli leaders over the past week matches the general tone in domestic discussions behind closed doors.
It would be much easier for Netanyahu to concede because Israel has restored its reputation as the strongest Middle Eastern power and its Iranian-backed enemies in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria now pose less of a threat.
Netanyahu’s once-fragile coalition has been strengthened by the addition of Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and his more centrist faction. Netanyahu, who has reached a ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon, can complete the picture by returning the hostages in an agreement with Hamas.
Over the past year, some far-right ministers in his cabinet have voiced opposition, threatening to topple the government if the war in Gaza ends. But with Israel’s enemies weakened and his coalition strengthened, Netanyahu is far less vulnerable politically.
Saar said on Monday that Israel is now more optimistic about a possible deal on the hostages amid reports that Hamas has asked other factions in Gaza to help compile a list of Israeli and foreign hostages in their custody, dead or alive.
A Palestinian close to the talks and familiar with the positions of the parties involved described what he called a “negotiation fever” with ideas emerging from all sides, including mediators in Egypt and Qatar.
Trump’s involvement has given the talks a boost, even if the sides have yet to submit lists of Palestinian prisoners and hostages to exchange or finalize plans for a temporary or phased truce, a Palestinian official said.
According to him, Hamas is ready to show some flexibility if there are guarantees that Israel will not resume fighting.
It is unclear how the parties can bridge the huge gap that has persisted through multiple rounds of failed negotiations; Hamas calls for an end to the war, and Israel says the war will not end until Hamas no longer rules Gaza.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken traveled to Jordan and Turkey on Wednesday for talks on Syria, the State Department said. Israel isn’t on his official itinerary, but there’s always the possibility he could add a stop.