The U.S. expressed optimism Tuesday that a Gaza cease-fire and hostage exchange deal could be finalized within weeks, citing ongoing efforts to resolve remaining disputes, according to the State Department.
Addressing reporters at the Foreign Press Center, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller underscored the urgency of reaching an agreement, expressing frustration at the repeated setbacks in negotiations.
"We believe that we are at the point where we ought to be able to get to an agreement. The differences between the two parties really have been narrowed such that all remaining differences ought to be bridgeable," Miller said.
However, he acknowledged the challenges, cautioning that previous negotiations had stalled despite appearing to be close to a resolution.
"That said, we have been here before and have not seen the parties come to an agreement," he said.
Earlier in the day, Miller expressed "cautious optimism" about negotiations in Qatar’s capital Doha to secure a deal.
Israel, which according to prisoners’ groups has more than 10,000 Palestinians in its prisons, estimates that there are around 100 Israeli captives in Gaza.
The Palestinian resistance group Hamas has said that 33 captives have been killed in indiscriminate Israeli airstrikes in Gaza.
Meanwhile, U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director Bill Burns is set to travel to the Qatari capital Doha on Wednesday to discuss the latest developments in cease-fire and prisoner exchange negotiations between the Palestinian group Hamas and Israel.
Burns is expected to meet with Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the U.S.-based news site Axios reported, citing a source familiar with the trip.
The discussions will focus on indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas facilitated by Qatar.
U.S. President Joe Biden’s Middle East adviser Brett McGurk is already in Doha, engaging in talks with Qatari, Egyptian and Israeli officials, according to a U.S. official speaking to the media outlet.
The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (KAN) reported Monday that an Israeli delegation with "limited authority" traveled to Doha for negotiations on a Gaza cease-fire and prisoner exchange.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday that progress has been made toward a deal with Hamas.
Hamas, in a written statement on the same day, described the ongoing discussions in Qatar as "serious and positive."
The group added that an agreement could be finalized if Israel stops introducing new conditions.
Mediation efforts led by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar to reach a cease-fire have so far failed due to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's refusal to halt the war on Gaza.
Israel has continued a genocidal war on Gaza that has killed more than 45,000 people, most of them women and children, since an incursion by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023.
