A “breakthrough” has been achieved in efforts to negotiate a framework ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas that could end months of fighting in Gaza and lead to the release of hostages, a senior Biden administration official said Thursday.
“We have achieved a breakthrough in a critical impasse,” the official said at a news conference. He attributed the development to a shift in Hamas’s position on a framework agreement, which the official said is now “fully consistent” with the U.S.-brokered deal adopted by the United Nations Security Council last month.
“Now we are moving on to implementation,” the official said.
If a deal is reached, it would end nearly nine months of fighting in Gaza, where local health officials say more than 38,000 people have been killed. It would also mean that hostages — captured in the October 7 Hamas terror attacks that killed 1,200 people and kidnapped about 250 others, according to Israeli officials — would be freed.
A ceasefire agreement could also help calm tensions on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, as Israeli forces continue to exchange fire with the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah. Fighting there has raised fears of a wider conflict.
President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier on Thursday in a phone call that lasted about 30 minutes to discuss details of the deal, the senior administration official said during the briefing.
They went through the draft agreement during the phone call and discussed outstanding issues, most of which, the senior official said, specifically related to the “implementation of the agreement.”
The official said a response from Hamas received several days ago through mediators in Qatar allowed the process to continue, with the militant group significantly adjusting its position on the deal.
Asked what had changed, a senior administration official told NBC News after the call that Israel’s military operations in recent weeks in Rafah, the southern Gaza city previously designated as a safe zone, had put new pressure on Hamas.
The talks are likely to take place in the coming days in Doha, the capital of Qatar. A U.S. team is already on the ground to help work out the details that still need to be agreed upon, a senior administration official told NBC News after the briefing.
The first phase of the deal would end the fighting and provide aid to civilians in Gaza. It would also free a number of hostages still held by Hamas, including all women, men over 50, and the sick and wounded.
Among those expected to be released is Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was taken hostage at the Supernova, or Nova, music festival. Polin was seriously wounded in the Hamas attack, losing part of his arm, a senior administration official told NBC News after the meeting.
Keith Siegel, the husband of Aviva Siegel, who was released by Hamas in November in a historic deal that freed dozens of hostages, would also be freed, they reported.
Journalists at the briefing were told that Biden and Netanyahu also discussed aspects of the second phase of the deal, which is expected to lead to a permanent ceasefire and the release of all remaining hostages and Israeli soldiers held in Gaza.
“The conversation was detailed, with the text of the agreement being reviewed. It was constructive and, in our view, encouraging,” the senior administration official said.
The official said Biden expects to discuss the latest developments on progress toward an agreement with European partners at next week’s NATO summit.
As negotiations between Israel and Hamas continue, talks are also underway to ease tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, a senior administration official told NBC News.
The official said Israel is under intense pressure to reach a de-escalation deal amid increasing attacks by the Lebanese militant group.
But during Thursday’s press conference, a senior administration official stressed that no deal has been reached between Israel and Hamas “until everything is settled.”
“This is, no pun intended, this is a big deal. And in every way. And so we want to do it right,” the official said. “It’s going to be tough and difficult, no doubt about it, but we’re going to do everything we can to get this done.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
