Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stood firm on his five red lines for a hostage deal as he met with US envoy Brett McGurk in Jerusalem while CIA Director William Burns held talks in Doha in an attempt to close the agreement.
Netanyahu “emphasized his commitment to the deal as long as Israel's red lines are preserved,” the Prime Minister’s Office said.
McGurk also met on Tuesday night with Defense Minster Yoav Gallant to discuss one of the stumbling blocks to the deal, which is the issue of the fate critical buffer zone between Gaza and Egypt, known as the Philadelphi Corridor.
Hamas had smuggled weapons into Gaza for use against Israel through tunnels it had dug underrate that corridor.
An IDF withdrawal from the corridor and indeed from all of Gaza has been one of the group’s demands for a hostage and ceasefire deal.
Gallant told McGurk that “A solution is required that will stop smuggling attempts and will cut off potential supply for Hamas, and will enable the withdrawal of IDF troops from the corridor, as part of a framework for the release of hostages.”
Israel supports the reopening of the crossing between Egypt and Gaza, Gallant said but stressed that Hamas could not return to that area.
Egypt so far has refused to reopen that crossing as long as Israel controls it on the Gaza side, as it does now.
Gallant thanked McGurk for his efforts to secure a deal that would ensure the release of the remaining 120 hostages in Gaza out of the 251 seized during the Hamas-led invasion on October 7.
McGurk’s meetings are part of an intense push by the United States to secure an agreement to the three-phase deal US President Joe Biden unveiled on May 31.
Red lines for a deal
Mediating countries Egypt and Qatar have been holding talks this week, with the help of Burns. He met in Doha on Wednesday with intelligence chiefs from Qatar, Egypt, and Israel.
Hamas initially rejected the agreement holding fast to its principled position that it would not agree to any deal that did not include a pledge from Israel to end the war and withdraw the IDF from Gaza.
Israeli has insisted that any deal must ensure the release of hostages as well as the removal of Gaza from military and governance control in Gaza. It does not want to commit to a ceasefire until that goal is achieved.
Talks resumed last weekend after Hamas dropped its immediate ceasefire demand, but it has attempted to reinsert it in other ways into the framework agreement.
Netanyahu earlier this week published five red lines, including his commitment to a deal that fell within the framework of a Biden proposal. He listed those conditions, which included preventing the smuggling of weapons into Gaza from Egypt, preventing armed terrorists from returning to northern Gaza, maximizing the release of living hostages, and a commitment to fulfilling the war goals.