Hostage deal talks set to restart next week with high-level meeting between Israel, US, Egypt & Qatar

The deadlocked talks between Hamas and Israel over the release of the 101 Israeli hostages still held in Gaza are set to restart next week, said U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Al-Thani after a meeting on Thursday.

Israeli and American delegations will travel to Doha on Sunday after months without negotiations, Israeli media reported. Israel reportedly estimates that Hamas will wait until Israel has attacked Iran and the expected response of the regime to re-engage with the hostage talks.

The summit will reportedly include the head of Mossad, Ronen Bar, Qatari Prime Minister Al-Thani, the new head of Egyptian intelligence Hassan Rashad, and CIA Director Bill Burns.

“We will discuss the means to achieve a breakthrough in these negotiations,” said Al-Thani, noting that Qatar has established contact with the Hamas leadership after the death of its leader Yahya Sinwar.

Hamas officials have since reiterated their demands for a full withdrawal of Israeli troops and the end of the war in exchange for the release of the hostages.

“Until now, there is no clarity (regarding) the way forward or the clear position, but… what we have sensed was the same position as the last paper [that Hamas submitted],” Al-Thani explained.

Hamas’ latest proposal came in July and contained the same demands it has insisted upon since the first hostage release and truce deal last November.

While speaking to reporters shortly before departing Israel and traveling to Saudi Arabia, from where he continued to Doha, Blinken said the U.S. was “looking at new frameworks and formulations as a possibility.” A U.S. official later clarified that this was a reference to agreeing to a smaller hostage deal as a first stage, which was discussed in the Israeli cabinet and between Israel and Egypt this week.

The plan, known as the “small deal,” proposes the release of a limited number of hostages, possibly as few as five, in exchange for a two-week ceasefire. 

According to senior officials, the goal of the “small deal” is to renew negotiations and prepare for a larger deal going forward. The proposal came after Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar visited Cairo on Sunday, where he met with Rashad.

After months of stalled talks, the negotiations received a new push after the death of Sinwar last week. Israel and the U.S. have largely blamed Hamas for refusing to negotiate, while Egypt and Qatar have pointed to Israeli demands regarding the Philadelphi Corridor as a main point of contention.

“We talked about options to capitalize on this moment and next steps to move the process forward, and I anticipate that our negotiators will be getting together in the coming days,” Blinken said.

“We haven’t yet really determined whether Hamas is prepared to engage, but the next step is getting the negotiators together… we’ll certainly learn more in the coming days.”