Talks over Gaza cease-fire, hostage swap deal stalled: Israeli media

By Zein Khalil

JERUSALEM (AA) - Negotiations over a proposed prisoner exchange and cease-fire between Israel and Palestinian factions in Gaza have hit a standstill, with no meetings planned, Israeli media reported Wednesday.

The information was reported by KAN, the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation, citing unnamed Israeli and foreign sources.

The sources indicated that talks on resuming negotiations on the proposed deal are currently "stalled." Consequently, no new dates have been set for meetings between the heads of the Israeli, Qatari, Egyptian and American security agencies.

Additionally, KAN reported that families of Israeli prisoners in Gaza, who met with the Israeli negotiating team recently, received "highly pessimistic messages" about the prospects of progress in the negotiations.

Members of the Israeli negotiation team informed the families that they "do not expect a breakthrough in these negotiations in the near term."

This is attributed not only to preparations for a potential Iranian response to the assassination of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital Tehran last week but also due to unresolved disagreements over Israel's positions on the Philadelphi Corridor and Netzarim Corridor, areas from which Israel refuses to withdraw.

The information stands in stark contrast to statements made by the US.

Earlier on Wednesday, White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby told reporters “we are as close as we think we have ever been” to reaching a cease-fire and hostage release deal between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas.

“There is a good proposal before both sides, and they need to both accept that proposal so we can get this in place,” Kirby said.

The US believes that both sides “need to do a final bit of work” to get to a conclusion, he added.

Last Saturday, the Israeli negotiation team left Cairo shortly after arriving. According to the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, the delegation returned to Tel Aviv due to disagreements with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, though the nature of the disagreements was not specified.

Neither the Egyptian nor Qatari mediators as well as Hamas have commented on the resumption of prisoner exchange negotiations, especially following the assassination of Haniyeh.

US President Joe Biden said May 31 that Israel presented a three-phase deal that would end hostilities in Gaza and secure the release of hostages in the coastal enclave. The plan includes a cease-fire, a hostage-prisoner exchange and the reconstruction of Gaza.

This comes amid Israel’s devastating offensive on the Gaza Strip since an attack by Hamas last October, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

More than 39,600 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 91,600 injured, according to local health authorities.

Over 10 months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio