The latest round of talks intended to reach a ceasefire agreement in the war on Gaza and to release the hostages that took place on 15-16 August in Doha ended without a breakthrough.

However, the US, Egyptian, and Qatari mediators at the talks released a statement in which they invited the warring parties in Gaza to a “final” round of talks that would take place in Cairo before 23 August. The statement said that Egypt and Qatar support a “bridging proposal” from the US based on the roadmap that US President Joe Biden outlined on 31 May and adopted by UN Security Council Resolution 2735.

The statement made it clear that there “is no further time to waste, nor excuses from any party for further delay.” It said that it is time to release the Israeli hostages and the Palestinian detainees, begin the ceasefire, and implement this “agreement,” a reference to the three-stage roadmap laid out by Biden.

On 16 August after the Doha talks had ended Biden told reporters that “we’re much, much closer than we were three days ago” to a ceasefire agreement. Earlier, he said that he had directed the US negotiating team to put forward a comprehensive “bridging proposal” that offers the basis for reaching a final agreement on a ceasefire and a hostage release deal.

He said that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken would travel to Israel to reaffirm “my iron-clad support for Israel’s security and continue our intensive efforts to conclude this agreement.” The visit would underscore that with a comprehensive ceasefire and hostage release deal now in sight, no one in the region should take actions to undermine this process, he added.

There is a consensus among Biden, President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi of Egypt, and Emir Tamim Hamad Al Thani of Qatar that the “process is now in the end game.” The US administration aims at closing out the “process once and for all,” it said.

A senior administration official told reporters in a special briefing on 16 August that the two days of negotiations in Doha were “probably the most constructive 48 hours” in the negotiations in many months. He said that he believed that the Israeli team “was clearly empowered.”

Over the course of the week running from 19 to 22 August the negotiating teams would be beginning the implementation details for the deal, particularly the extensive humanitarian provisions, and “making sure that those would all be implemented rapidly once the deal is concluded,” he said.

Blinken arrived in Israel on 18 August on a tour that also includes Egypt. According to the State Department, the aim is to continue intensive diplomatic efforts to conclude the agreement for a ceasefire and the release of the hostages and detainees, according to the US bridging proposal. The overall aim is to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza, secure the release of all the hostages, ensure humanitarian assistance is distributed throughout Gaza, and create the conditions for broad regional stability.

However, the most important and significant message that Blinken carries with him is that all the parties in the region should avoid any escalation that could undermine the ability to finalise an agreement.

Before meeting Blinken on 19 August, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel is “conducting negotiations… There are things we can be flexible on, and there are things that we cannot be flexible on, which we will insist on. We know how to distinguish between the two very well.”

The message was therefore don’t try to push us.

In the same vein, Israeli Minister of Energy Eli Cohen told Israel’s Army Radio on 18 August that it is “clear to everyone that the State of Israel will have security control over Gaza” and that “we are working and insisting that the Philadelphi Corridor remain under Israeli control.”

Blinken’s task in Israel is therefore challenging as far as cajoling the Israelis to accept compromises in order to finalise the ceasefire and hostage release agreement. Peace in the Middle East remains a bridge too far.

The writer is former assistant foreign minister.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 22 August, 2024 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly