President Biden, along with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Qatari leader Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, on Thursday called on Israel and Hamas to agree to a negotiated ceasefire and hostage release agreement that is increasingly close to being agreed upon.
“The time has come to bring immediate relief to both the long-suffering people of Gaza and the long-suffering hostages and their families,” the leaders said in a statement.
“The time has come to conclude an agreement on a ceasefire and the release of hostages and detainees,” the two leaders said. “The three of us and our teams have worked tirelessly for months to finalize a framework agreement. The agreement is now on the negotiating table, and all that remains is to finalize the implementation details.”
“We can no longer waste time and no side can justify further delays,” they added. “The time has come to release the hostages, initiate a ceasefire and implement this agreement.”
The leaders also called for talks to resume in Doha or Cairo from August 15, and said they were “ready to present a final solution to resolve remaining implementation issues in a manner that meets the expectations of all parties.”
The United States has been signaling for weeks that the talks are in the final stages, but officials acknowledge that key implementation details still need to be worked out.
A senior U.S. official said Thursday that President Biden spoke by phone this week with President Sisi and Emir Tamim about the hostage and ceasefire agreement, and suggested a joint statement was needed.
“A statement from the three leaders is unusual but significant,” the official said. “The three leaders have been engaged in hostage negotiations, ceasefire negotiations for several months, and as the statement states, a framework agreement is on the table, but implementation details have not been finalized.”
There is still work to be done and no agreement is expected next week, but the remaining details of the proposal relate to “the order of exchange” and could be bridged, the official added.
“The bulk of the work is done and the agreement is in place. We believe that with some willpower and careful discussion, it can be done. [and] “It’s urgent,” the source added.
The ceasefire and hostage release agreement builds on a May proposal by Biden that included swapping the most vulnerable hostages for Palestinian prisoners, a temporary ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from densely populated areas of the Gaza Strip.
The ceasefire will last as long as negotiations continue between the two sides to end the fighting and release the remaining hostages.
Hamas is holding about 115 hostages in the Gaza Strip and Israel is fighting to free them in a war that has killed more than 39,000 Palestinians.
Israel also wants to destroy Hamas after Palestinian militants invaded southern Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages. A brief ceasefire in November freed about 105 hostages.
An agreement on a ceasefire and hostage release recently stalled with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has made further demands and appears to be complicating negotiations.
Netanyahu has been accused of prolonging the war in Gaza for his own political survival amid domestic problems and domestic questions about the Oct. 7 security failures. Still, he faces growing pressure from Israelis and the hostages’ families to reach a deal.
The talks come at a critical juncture amid rising tensions in the Middle East following the death of a top Hezbollah commander in an Israeli strike in Lebanon last week. Iran has also blamed Israel for the killing of Hamas’ top leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran.
Iran and its proxy, Hezbollah, have vowed to confront an Israeli ready to attack at any time. In anticipation, the US has been moving more assets to the Middle East, including the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, which will replace the Theodore Roosevelt. The Pentagon has also moved a squadron of F-22 Raptor fighter jets to the region.
