US piles pressure on Netanyahu to strike ceasefire deal

Talks with Hamas expected to take place in Cairo or Doha with Joe Biden keen on an agreement to defuse tensions with Iran

The US has piled pressure on Israel to finalise a ceasefire deal with Hamas in an attempt to avoid all-out war with Iran.
On Thursday night, the US, alongside Egypt and Qatar, issued a statement saying the “time has come to conclude the ceasefire and hostages and detainees release deal”.
The move comes as Iran and its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah continue to plot strikes on Israel in revenge for twin assassinations conducted in Beirut and Tehran just over a week ago.
On Friday, the office of Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said it would send a team to “finalise” details in the negotiations which have been running hot and cold since Christmas.
The talks are expected to take place in either Cairo or Doha, although a venue has yet to be announced for security reasons.
“Pursuant to the proposal by the US and the mediators, Israel will – on 15 August – send the negotiations team to … to finalise the details of the implementation of the framework agreement,” said the Israeli statement.
President Joe Biden has invested enormous political capital in a ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza.
The US sees such an agreement not just as a means of ending the bloody 10-month war, but of defusing tensions with Iran and paving the way for a wider Middle East peace.
Ayman Safadi, Jordan’s foreign minister, said: “The first step toward stopping the escalation is ending its root cause, which is the continued Israeli aggression on Gaza.”
Masoud Pezeshkian, Iran’s new president, said that escalation could be prevented with a deal.
“If America and Western countries really want to prevent war and insecurity in the region, to prove this claim, they should immediately stop selling arms and supporting the Zionist regime and force this regime to stop the genocide and attacks on Gaza and accept a ceasefire,” he said.
The US-led ceasefire plan has looked increasingly fragile in the wake of the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Haniyeh was not just the chief negotiator for Hamas but was generally seen as representing the more pragmatic wing of the terrorist group.
He has been replaced by Yahya Sinwar, 61, the hardline military leader of Hamas who has not been seen since he organised and directed the October 7 massacre.
An Israeli official told The Telegraph on Friday that Israel would enter into the negotiations on Thursday in good faith and was willing to be flexible.
But they added: “The main thing to remember is that Israel won’t give up on destroying Hamas – that means making sure they have no governing capabilities or infrastructure in Gaza [following the ceasefire].”
Israel’s Channel 12 on Thursday reported that Sinwar wants a ceasefire “as soon as possible,” citing Hamas sources. He is said to be under pressure from his own commanders in Gaza to strike a deal.
“He has no interest in continuing this war and he is eager to have a ceasefire”, added the Palestinian political analyst, Mohammed Daraghmeh. “But if he doesn’t get that, he won’t surrender and he will fight until the end.”
The Israeli Hostages Families Forum welcomed the US pressure for a deal, saying that for 308 days the hostages have “endured captivity in hell”.
Several families of the hostages have accused Mr Netanyahu of sabotaging the ceasefire deal with the recent assassinations. They say he has an interest in prolonging the conflict to avoid being toppled by the Right wing of his fragile coalition who oppose any deal with Hamas.
Mr Biden told Mr Netanyahu to “stop bullshitting” him in a frank phone conversation last week, according to Channel 12, after the Israeli prime minister insisted that progress was being made in the talks.
Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s hard-right finance minister, characterised the latest peace talks as a “trap” on Friday. He said the US and others were “forcing a surrender agreement” on Israel and said he would not support the release of “abominable terrorists who killed the Jews”.