Breakthrough in Gaza ceasefire? Long war heading towards truce

Jerusalem: Israel and Hamas appear to be inching closer to a phased ceasfire agreement, officials said Monday.

But a deal hasn’t been reached yet, and there are a number of obstacles that could still scupper the talks in Qatar.

The war in Gaza has ground on for more than 15 months, starting on Oct 7, 2023, when Hamas militants stormed into southern Israel and killed about 1,200 people, and abducted around 250. A third of the 100 hostages still held in Gaza are believed to be dead.

More than 46,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s offensive, according to Gaza health authorities, which don’t distinguish between fighters and civilians.

Israel and Hamas have been holding indirect talks for more than a year aimed at ending the war in Gaza and returning scores of militant-held hostages in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

There has been intensive mediation by the United States, Qatar and Egypt.

But the talks have repeatedly stalled over several key issues. They include details of the exchange, whether the ceasefire would be permanent and the withdrawal of Israeli forces. The war has ground on as each side has accused the other of backtracking.

The state news agency of the United Arab Emirates says a high-level delegation from the oil-rich nation is in Beirut to undertake all necessary arrangements to reopen the UAE Embassy in Lebanon.

Monday’s move came days after Lebanon’s army commander, Gen Joseph Aoun, was elected president ending a 26-month vacuum in the country’s top job.

The UAE withdrew its diplomats from Lebanon in October 2021 in protest to comments by a Lebanese Cabinet minister about the war in Yemen.

Aoun spoke by telephone with the president of the UAE over the weekend who told him the embassy will resume work in Beirut, according to Aoun’s office. His election is likely to improve Lebanon’s cold relations with oil-rich gulf Arab nations. Ties have been tense for years because of Iran’s influence in the small Mediterranean nation.

Meanwhile, The Biden administration sees a possible Gaza agreement as soon as this week, White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan has told Bloomberg News, adding that there were no guarantees that the parties would agree to such a deal.

Sullivan, speaking to Bloomberg in an interview, added that US President Joe Biden’s administration has been in contact with incoming President Donald Trump’s team on the issue.