Israeli delegation back to Egypt as Sullivan warns 'miles to go' on deal

An Israeli team is slated to travel Thursday evening to Cairo for security talks and other discussions related to Gaza following the return of an Israeli negotiating team from Doha Wednesday, where discussions took place on a deal for a hostage and prisoner release and cease-fire in Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Wednesday with the returned team, headed by Mossad Director David Barnea, to hear about the progress of the Doha talks. Barnea met in Qatar with CIA Director William Burns, Egyptian intelligence head Abbas Kamel and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Al Thani. The four have held talks since the first hostage deal was reached last November. 

A senior Israeli official told Walla that progress had been made in Doha in identifying the areas negotiators had reached agreement and where sticking points remain. One of the remaining obstacles, reported Walla, is the return of Palestinians in Gaza to the northern part of the enclave. Hamas wants free passage for all Gaza residents, but Israel insists on a means of preventing Hamas militants from moving around freely. 

Meanwhile, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Thursday that the negotiators have made progress toward a deal between Israel and Hamas but warned that an agreement is not imminent. “The signs are more positive today than they have been in recent months,” Sullivan told reporters, adding, “There’s still miles to go before we close — if we are able to close.”

Progress on Cairo security talks

A statement issued by Netanyahu's office Thursday confirmed the prime minister's meeting with the Doha negotiating team but did not provide any details. The statement also announced that a delegation led by Shin Bet Director Ronan Bar and including Israeli military officers would leave for Cairo Thursday to continue security talks.

Unlike the Doha talks, the discussions in Cairo do not deal directly with negotiations on a deal but with related issues, primarily the manner in which the southern Gaza Rafah crossing, currently controlled by Israeli forces, will be managed going forward and the implementation of measures to prevent the smuggling of arms from Egypt into the Palestinian territory. Israel maintains that Hamas has long used tunnels under the Philadelphi Corridor, the long stretch of territory along the Gaza-Egypt border, to smuggle weapons and other supplies used for military purposes into Gaza. 

The senior Israeli official cited by Walla also said that the Biden administration had agreed to help finance an underground barrier on the border between Gaza and Egypt to help detect smuggling. The official added that Egypt had agreed to the idea, including allowing Israel access to the monitoring system and cameras that would be installed on the Egyptian side.

The parties have not reached agreement on the extent of Israel’s withdrawal from Rafah during the first stage of any potential cease-fire deal, an issue pertinent to Egypt.