Negotiators are hopeful but the US believes it may be the last opportunity to secure release of hostages
Mediators said they were hopeful about brokering a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war after two days of talks in the Qatari capital, Doha, last week, announcing that a “bridging proposal” had been agreed.
Negotiations are expected to resume in Cairo on Wednesday or Thursday. Hamas is not directly participating; the group is being briefed on developments by mediators Qatar andBlinken has made nine trips to the Middle East since the war broke out, and has come away empty handed almost every time.
Unlike the week-long truce that collapsed at the end of November, this ceasefire would be indefinitely extendable while negotiators thrash out details of the next stage, so an impasse would not necessarily trigger a return to hostilities. Hamas has claimed at times it does not know the whereabouts or condition of many of the hostages: the November ceasefire broke down after Hamas could not or would not produce any more female captives to swap.
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