U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he expects “negotiators will be getting together in the coming days” to discuss pathways toward an Israel–Hamas ceasefire and hostage release agreement.
Israeli forces have continued military operations in Gaza, while Hamas still holds roughly 100 of the approximately 250 hostages it took more than a year ago. The U.S., Qatari, and Egyptian governments have acted as mediators during the war but have repeatedly failed to get a deal across the finish line due to the hardened stances of both sides.
The killing earlier this month of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who was ultimately holding up an agreement, poses an opportunity for a new leader to emerge, one who could be more willing to make a deal. Blinken acknowledged on Thursday that Sinwar’s death means reconnecting with Hamas to see where they stand on a possible deal, though it’s not clear who exactly would be making the final call.
One of the initial steps “involves an assessment of exactly where Hamas stands in the wake of the death of Sinwar,” Blinken said on Thursday alongside Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Doha.
Qatar and Egypt negotiate with Hamas leaders, though the ability to communicate between them can take days or weeks given the conditions in Gaza and the precautions the group’s leaders take to try to ensure their safety.
“We had some meetings with them in the last couple of days,” Al Thani said during the news conference with Blinken, adding that a Hamas delegation is in Egypt for “ongoing discussions.”
A day earlier, while Blinken was in Israel meeting with leaders, he described the moment as “a real opportunity” to secure a deal. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that during his meeting with Blinken, he “emphasized” that the killing of Sinwar “is likely to have a positive influence on the return of the hostages.”
Israel and Hamas had agreed to a weeklong ceasefire back in late November 2023. During that time, about 100 Israeli hostages were freed, though the deal did not last. Hamas has not willingly given up any hostages since then, though a handful have been recovered during Israeli rescue operations.
It’s unclear how many of the hostages are still alive.
Leaders around the world have repeatedly urged both sides to come to an agreement, but both sides have refused to capitulate on certain aspects of a deal, though a new Hamas leader could take a different stance than Sinwar. Israeli officials initially listed their war aims to include the removal of Hamas from power in Gaza and the destruction of their military capabilities to carry out another attack like the Oct. 7, 2023 massacre. Blinken has said Hamas is no longer able to conduct such a terrorist attack.
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Israeli forces over the last year have decimated both Hamas’s leadership and ranks, but also much of the Gaza Strip’s infrastructure itself. Hamas, which has been in power for more than 15 years in Gaza, had built up its arsenal and embedded itself within and underneath civilian structures.
More than 40,000 Palestinians are believed to have been killed during the war. Israeli officials have acknowledged that about half of the deaths were civilians, and the other half were terrorists. There is also a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which U.S. officials have threatened could lead to a suspension of U.S. military aid to Israel due to allegations its blocking aid from getting into the besieged enclave.