The Israel-Hamas ceasefire talks are slow but ongoing : NPR

TEL AVIV, Israel and DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Arab mediators are working to secure a new Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal after weeks of concerted U.S. involvement, including secret direct talks with the group.

Efforts to secure a ceasefire are stuck at the same stumbling block that has stood in the way for most of the Israel-Hamas war: how to secure an agreement that frees hostages held in Gaza and permanently ends the war.

Mediators are rushing against the clock as Israel slowly expands airstrikes on Gaza. Aid supplies, access to drinking water and fuel are also dwindling in Gaza following a two-week-long blockade by Israel, barring the entry of all goods, medical supplies and food.

U.S. strikes Saturday on Houthi targets in Yemen for the group’s attacks on shipping in the Red Sea in support of Gaza further highlights the wider regional dimension of the conflict. Yemen’s official SABA news agency quoted the health ministry as saying the U.S. attacks killed at least 31 people, most of them women and children.

Moreover, a new Israeli political firestorm could throw the talks further into disarray. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced late Sunday that he seeks to fire his domestic security chief, who had helped lead ceasefire negotiations for most of the war.

Israel says it is seeking the immediate release of 11 living hostages, out of the 24 still believed to be held alive by Hamas in Gaza, and half of the 35 hostage bodies held in Gaza.

The U.S. is proposing another round of Israeli hostage and Palestinian prisoner exchanges while holding further discussions on permanently ending the war. It says Hamas must immediately release U.S.-Israeli dual citizen Edan Alexander, who was serving in the Israeli military at the time of his capture in the Hamas attack Oct. 7, 2023, and is still believed to be alive.

Senior Hamas official Bassem Naim said in a statement to reporters that the group would release Alexander and the bodies of four dual U.S.-Israeli nationals as an initial gesture, if Israel commits to immediate talks toward a permanent ceasefire and an immediate troop withdrawal from Gaza’s border with Egypt — two conditions Israel is so far refusing.

Israeli and Egyptian officials met in Cairo on Sunday to discuss the hostage issue, the Israeli government said. Mediators are trying to bridge the gaps, according to an Egyptian official, who was briefed on the talks and spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to divulge details publicly.

Here are the main issues, and where the parties stand on them.

How the initial ceasefire deal broke down

An initial ceasefire agreement took effect the day before Trump’s inauguration in January. Phase one of the deal saw exchanges of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, partial Israeli troop withdrawals and a surge of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

The deal stipulated that by Mar. 1, phase one of the deal would be over, and Israel and Hamas would enter phase two, including the release of Hamas’ remaining hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, the withdrawal of the remaining Israeli troops from Gaza including from Gaza’s border with Egypt, and talks toward a final end of war.

But Israel refused to enter phase two negotiations to end the war or to withdraw troops from the border area, instead demanding the release of half of the hostages, living and dead, followed by talks toward a final end of war. Hamas accused Israel of sabotaging the initial agreement.

The two sides have not formally returned to war, but Israel began blocking all food, fuel and aid supplies to Gaza to pressure Hamas to agree to its terms.

Israel has also slowly increased its military strikes in Gaza on people it said threatened troops, including airstrikes Saturday that killed at least nine people, according to Gaza’s civil defense group. Israel said they were militants posing as journalists operating a drone intended to carry out attacks on troops; a London-based aid group said eight of the dead were staff members performing charity work.

What the U.S. and Israel are proposing

Last Wednesday in Qatar’s capital, Doha, President Trump’s Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and U.S. National Security Council Senior Director for the Middle East and North Africa Eric Trager presented a proposal to salvage the Israel-Hamas ceasefire.

Witkoff told CNN on Sunday that he proposed Hamas release five living hostages, including U.S.-Israeli dual citizen Edan Alexander, in exchange for a “substantial” release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.

The U.S. proposed an extension of the ceasefire beyond Ramadan and Passover — through late April — including “significant humanitarian assistance” to Gaza and negotiations toward a permanent ceasefire, the White House said in a statement.

The U.S. is demanding that this proposal be implemented beginning with the immediate release of Alexander, but did not publicize a specific date.

In the CNN interview, Witkoff referred to Saturday’s U.S. bombing of Houthi targets in Yemen and said, “I would encourage Hamas to get much more sensible than how they have been.”

How Arab mediators are trying to close the gaps

The Egyptian official said mediators are trying to reach the following agreement:

• First, Hamas would release Alexander — the living American hostage — and the bodies of four American hostages.

• Then, a 50-day ceasefire extension would commence by midweek this week, effectively extending the first phase of the ceasefire deal. By the end of the 50 days, 11 living hostages and an unspecified number of hostage bodies would be released by Hamas.

• Negotiations on the terms of the second phase of the deal would begin within the coming days, and the second phase would begin before the end of the 50 days. That phase would include the release of the remaining hostages.

• The U.S. would guarantee a permanent ceasefire would be reached, along with a full Israeli troop withdrawal from the Gaza-Egypt border area. Egypt is demanding the withdrawal at the beginning of the 50-day period, the Egyptian official said.

NPR’s Daniel Estrin reported from Tel Aviv, Aya Batrawy from Dubai, and Abu Bakr Bashir contributed reporting from London