Palestinians search for victims following an Israeli strike that killed more than 100 people in a school sheltering displaced Palestinians. a medical source said, in Gaza City, on Saturday. U.S.-mediated cease-fire talks between Hamas and Israel are expected to resume Thursday. Photo by Mahmoud Zaki/UPI |
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Aug. 15 (UPI) -- Gaza cease-fire and hostage negotiations resumed Thursday in Doha despite Hamas stating it will not show and amid fears of a potential Iranian strike on Israel.
The United States, a mediator in the talks, has been pushing for Israel and Hamas to sign a cease-fire agreement since the deal was announced by U.S. President Joe Biden in late May. But urgency to get it done has ramped up in recent weeks as Iran has vowed to conducted a retaliatory strike on Israel over the assassinations of Tehran proxy militia leaders in Lebanon and Iran.
According to the Hamas-run Palestinian Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between militant and civilian, nearly 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war.
The Biden administration sent CIA Director William Burns and Brett McGurk, the White House's Middle East and North Africa envoy, to represent the United States at the talks.
Israel said Wednesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved the departure of his delegation, but Hamas has repeatedly said it was refusing to attend.
Despite Hamas' public rejections, the Biden administration heading into Thursday voiced confidence that the negotiations would go ahead as planned.
As the talks were under way, both Biden and White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby separately told the press that the militant organization was being represented by Egypt and Qatar, the other two nations mediating the discussion.
Kirby told reporters during a press conference that gaps had been narrowed ahead of the talks and that Thursday would be focused on agreement implementation details with expectations for negotiations to continue Friday.
"We do not anticipate coming out of these talks today with a deal," he said.
Last week, Biden administration officials were vocal that the agreement was near complete, and Kirby explained Thursday that its framework was done and what was left was "individual muscle movements" to put it in place.
The mediating countries of the United States, Qatar and Egypt scheduled Thursday for the resumption of talks last week, stating "there is no further time to waste nor excuses for any party for further delay" to get a deal done.
Israel and Iran have been in a proxy war for years that violently erupted into a war in Gaza on Oct. 7 when Tehran proxy militia Hamas launched a bloody assault on Israel, killing 1,200 Israelis, while another 250 were kidnapped and taken back into Gaza.
Israel has responded by razing much of the Palestinian enclave in its determination to eliminate Hamas and find the Israelis held captive. Meanwhile, Iranian proxy militias Hezbollah of Lebanon and and the Houthi rebels of Yemen, embolden by the conflict, have also been attacking Israel.
Late last month, Fuad Shukr, the commander of Hezbollah, was assassinated in Lebanon. The next day, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Iran.
Though Israel has claimed responsibility for Shukr, it has not commented on the death of Haniyeh. Iran holds Israel responsible for both assassinations and has vowed to retaliate.
Fears surround the potential of an Iranian strike as one will not only potentially thwart the possibility of securing a cease-fire but also escalate and expand the more than 300-day war through the Middle East.
Last week's call for the resumption of cease-fire talks comes against the backdrop of these rising tensions and the Biden administration for days was confidently stating that the cease-fire deal was nearly done and that they were working to hold off Iran's retaliation strike.
On Tuesday, Biden told reporters that he believes a cease-fire agreement will halt an Iran strike on Israel.
"That's my expectation, but we'll see," he said.
