HOPES UP FOR BREAK IN GAZA DEADLOCK

The White House and Arab states are ramping up efforts to broker a deal that would pause the fighting in Gaza and free hostages held by Hamas, with members of Israel’s war cabinet indicating signs of progress after weeks of a stalemate.

White House Middle East co-ordinator Brett McGurk met ­Israeli officials, including Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, who said the country’s negotiators would get a broader mandate in hostage talks amid the military’s intense ground operations.

Mr McGurk’s visit to Israel came a day after he had talks in Cairo with Egyptian officials who are leading negotiations with Hamas’s leadership in Gaza.

In a possible sign of a revival of the talks, CIA director William Burns was also expected to meet senior leaders from the Middle East overnight on Friday.

Mr Burns was instrumental in securing a week long ceasefire in November that freed more than 100 Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

The talks come after Hamas said it was willing to lower its ­demands for the number of Palestinian prisoners it wants released in the deal to 3000, according to Egyptian officials. The group had previously demanded all women and children prisoners along with prisoners sentenced to life terms. The group is still demanding the release of those serving long jail sentences in terrorism-linked cases.

In a sign that Israel is hearing information from mediators that could lead to progress in the talks, Benny Gantz, a member of Israel’s war cabinet, said there were the “first signs that indicate the possibility for moving forward” in negotiations.

The talks come at a critical moment in the war in Gaza, with Israel threatening to invade Rafah, the Gaza Strip’s southernmost city where more than a million Palestinian civilians are sheltering, and fears rising for the safety of Israeli hostages.

Israel’s leadership has given Hamas a deadline of the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, around March 10, to free hostages or face a ground operation in Rafah. Israeli officials have argued that military pressure is key to coercing Hamas into making more concessions in hostage negotiations.

A recent rescue operation to free two Israeli hostages is fueling the perception among some in the Israeli government that military action, rather than a deal, could achieve the release of the remaining hostages, said Daniel Levy, a former Israeli government official and negotiator.

“While negotiations and the role of international mediators, and notably the personal involvement of CIA chief Burns alongside Qatari, Egyptian and Israeli principals, have intensified, gaps remain substantial,” he said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday reiterated his aim to continue the war. “We will not relent until we achieve total victory,” he said.

US President Joe Biden has expressed growing frustration with Mr Netanyahu over the conduct of the war in Gaza, but has so far ruled out imposing curbs on weapon deliveries to Israel to coerce a change in Israeli policy. The administration has instead adopted an approach of offering Israel incentives.

Hamas is demanding that talks toward a permanent ceasefire would start immediately once a six-week pause begins. The terrorist group requested a plan in which a further release of hostages during the ceasefire would depend on progress in talks ­toward an end to the war. Mr Netanyahu has said ending the war was a red line he would not cross.

In its current offer, Hamas says it would keep male Israeli soldiers hostages until a deal is reached on a permanent ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza is completed, Egyptian officials said.

The Wall Street Journal