Diplomats aim to resume ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas next week, three officials briefed on the process said, reviving hopes of an end to fighting in Gaza as Israel presses ahead with its military operation there.
Explorative talks took place in Paris this weekend between David Barnea, director of Israel's foreign intelligence agency, Mossad, CIA Director William J. Burns and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, one of the go-betweens between Israel and Hamas, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
Qatar, the United States and Egypt have been trying for months to persuade Israel and Hamas to accept a ceasefire and prisoner swap that would end the seven-month-old war.
But previous talks have repeatedly broken down over the duration and nature of the ceasefire. Hamas wants a permanent ceasefire that would allow it to maintain control over Gaza, while Israel wants to continue fighting after a break and remove Hamas from power. Another major point of contention in the last round of talks was how to transition between each stage of the three-phase agreement.
Issues to date have included how much Israeli troops should withdraw from Gaza during the ceasefire and whether Israel should allow Gaza residents to move freely between north and south Gaza.
The two sides also disagree on how many hostages Hamas should release, and how many Palestinian prisoners Israel should release in return. Last talks negotiated the possibility of Hamas releasing 33 hostages, mostly women, elderly and those in urgent medical need. Israel's latest assessment is that there are more than 120 hostages remaining in Gaza, about a quarter of them dead.
During the talks, Egyptian and Qatari officials spoke directly with Hamas envoys, who did not meet directly with Israeli or American envoys. Egypt took the lead in previous rounds of talks in Cairo, but Qatari officials were also present.
Diplomats say the hostage negotiations need to be completed in order to move forward with other related diplomatic efforts, including regional discussions on who should govern Gaza after the war, talks on a normalization deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia and ceasefire talks with Hezbollah, the Lebanese militia that is fighting Israeli forces along Israel's border with Lebanon.
Rawan Sheikh Ahmad Reporting from Haifa, Israel Julian E. Barnes Submitted from Washington.