Where are the negotiations for a truce in the Gaza Strip?

After the first day of talks in Doha, Qatar, the White House hailed a “promising start,” despite the absence of Hamas and new violence in the occupied West Bank.

Mediators remain “firmly committed to continuing their efforts to achieve a ceasefire” in Gaza. At the end of the first day of negotiations on a humanitarian pause in the Palestinian enclave, Thursday, August 15, the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs insisted, in a statement shared on X, on the determination of its emissaries, as well as those of Egypt and the United States, to continue the discussions underway in Doha, Qatar, on Friday.

Especially since the spokesperson for the National Security Council at the White House welcomed the “promising start” of the first exchanges. The obstacles “can be overcome and we must reach a solution”John Kirby said at a news conference in Washington on Thursday. The United States and Qatar therefore share the hope that these negotiations will be successfuldespite a large number of difficulties they encounter and which franceinfo summarizes for you.

Hamas is absent from the discussions

The United States is one of the intermediaries in these negotiations, represented in Qatar by CIA Director William Burns and White House Middle East adviser Brett McGurk. Also sitting around the table are representatives of Israel, the head of the foreign intelligence service (Mossad) and his counterpart for internal security, the Shin Bet. Finally, Egypt and Qatar have also sent emissaries who, according to John Kirby, serve as “mediators with Hamas.”

Hamas, on the other hand, is not officially at the table of these negotiations, refusing to participate in new discussions until the Biden plan is implemented. One of its representatives is, however, in Doha. He told AFP on Thursday evening: “Any agreement must lead to a comprehensive ceasefire, a withdrawal [israélien] complete from Gaza, [et] on the return of displaced persons”. “If the mediators manage to force [Tel-Aviv] to accept this, we will participate [aux discussions]. But, so far, there is nothing new,” continued Hossam Badran, a member of Hamas’ political bureau.

Many sticking points remain

Each side is blaming the other for the deadlock in the negotiations, eager not to give in to the opposition, but at the same time showing its population its willingness to stop the bloodshed. These talks follow a clear roadmap: the plan presented at the end of May by US President Joe Biden. If adopted, this protocol, proposed by Israel and which Hamas viewed positively in the spring, would take place in three phases. First, the withdrawal of the Israeli army from Gaza for six weeks. Then the release of the hostages held by Hamas and its allies, accompanied by a cessation “permed” hostilities. Finally, the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip could begin. If there remains “lots to do” Before reaching that goal, John Kirby acknowledged, the United States clearly reiterated those goals on Thursday night.

“The hostages must be released, there must be respite for Palestinian civilians in Gaza, security for Israel and a reduction in tensions in the region, and all this as quickly as possible.”

John Kirby, White House National Security Council spokesman

at a press conference

But these guidelines still clash with Israel’s war aims. Although it has already accepted and respected a temporary truce in November, the government of Benjamin Netanyahu keeps repeating that the war will last until the total destruction of Hamas. An objective that seems incompatible with the acceptance of the end “permed” fighting in Gaza within six weeks.

Regarding the fate of the 111 Israeli hostages still held in Gaza, the Biden plan provides for a “real exchange” with Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. But on the eve of this new round of negotiations in Doha, the Israeli Prime Minister has toughened his conditions on this point. “Israel will have a veto over some prisoners released and will be able to designate those who can be released abroad”he wrote on his X account on Tuesday. Finally, the last phase of the plan, which consists of imagining from now on the future of the Gaza Strip without Hamas, in power since 2007, remains a sticking point.

A context of increased tensions in the region

These negotiations are starting at a time when the international community fears a total conflagration in the region. Particularly since July 31 and the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, killed in Tehran, Iran, by a strike attributed to the Israeli army. Iran has since promised to inflict a “severe punishment” to the Hebrew State. This new escalation of violence in the Middle East could be avoided, according to the United States, by obtaining a ceasefire in Gaza.

Another source of concern: the assassination by Israel on July 30 of Fouad Chokr, military leader of Hezbollah, a Lebanese party allied with Hamas and Iran. After this attack, the Lebanese Shiite movement also threatened Tel Aviv with taking over “revenge”. This response is however, according to Washington Postnow suspended following the end of the negotiations on the ceasefire in Gaza. The American daily relayed the words of an anonymous source “having close ties to Hezbollah“, stating that “The party does not want to be held responsible for obstructing negotiations or a possible agreement.”

These negotiations also began as new violence continues in the Palestinian territories. On Thursday, Hamas’s health ministry announced that the death toll from the war in the Gaza Strip had now risen to more than 40,000, a figure described as a “dark stage for the whole world” by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk.