Israel agrees to new ceasefire talks with Hamas

– It is time to finalize a ceasefire agreement and release hostages and prisoners, says the statement from the three mediating countries.

Qatar, Egypt and the United States are asking the parties to sit down at the table on August 15, either in Qatar’s capital Doha or Egypt’s capital Cairo, to finalize an agreement, without further delay.

Shortly after the three countries issued their statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the country accepts the invitation.

– At the suggestion of the US and the mediators, on August 15, Israel will send a delegation of negotiators to an agreed location to finalize the details of the implementation of an agreement, Netanyahu’s office said Friday night.

At that time, Hamas had not yet made a sound.

The US does not expect immediate signing

A senior official for US President Joe Biden’s administration says the statement from the US, Egypt and Qatar is not linked to the larger regional situation in the Middle East, but adds that it is good if the new talks can affect Iran.

The official also says that the US has no expectations that the parties will sign a ceasefire on Thursday next week.

– It is a negotiation. We need some things from both the Israelis and Hamas’ side, says the official, who adds that one of the issues the parties have not yet agreed on concerns the exchange of hostages and prisoners.

Blinken: It’s up to Sinwar

At the end of last month, a senior official in US President Joe Biden’s administration told AFP that negotiations on a ceasefire were in the final stages and that an agreement could probably be finalized within a short time.

On Tuesday this week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that it is now up to Hamas’ new political leader Yahya Sinwar to say yes to a ceasefire for the Gaza Strip.

Sinwar is believed to be the mastermind behind Hamas’ attack on Israel and the abduction of hostages on October 7 last year, which led to Israel launching a war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.