According to a senior administration official quoted in the report, the US has been engaging with Egypt and Qatar to outline a final "take it or leave it" deal.
This proposal is expected to be presented to the involved parties in the coming weeks, with the understanding that if they do not accept it, American-led negotiations may come to an end. It remains uncertain whether the discovery of the six hostages will make it more or less likely that Israel and Hamas will reach an agreement in the coming weeks.
“You can’t keep negotiating this. This process has to be called at some point,” the senior official told The Washington Post, adding that the US, Egypt, and Qatar had been working on the final proposal before the six hostages were found dead in a tunnel beneath Rafah. “Does it derail the deal? No. If anything, it should add additional urgency in this closing phase, which we were already in.”
Commenting on the IDF’s assessment that the six hostages were murdered by their captors "shortly before" they were found, the senior administration official said that the US concurs with this assessment.
The senior administration official expressed concern that Hamas' decision to execute the hostages during negotiations "calls into question" the group’s seriousness in the talks. Hamas has been obstinate at various points, even as Israeli officials have made concessions, the official said.
“US officials are going to be burning up the phones over the next 48 hours to see if a deal can still be reached,” a second senior US official told The Washington Post.
Biden has been pushing an outline for a ceasefire and hostage release deal that he first laid out in May. On Saturday night, he commented to reporters on the efforts to achieve a ceasefire and hostage release deal, saying, "It's time this war ended…I think we're on the verge of having an agreement."
He said he was "still optimistic" about the prospects of an agreement and added that "people are continuing to meet."
"We think we can close the deal, they've all said they agree on the principles," said Biden.
Last Sunday, two Egyptian security sources told Reuters that talks over a possible ceasefire in Gaza and hostage release deal ended without agreement in Cairo.
Later, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the United States is still “feverishly” working in Cairo toward reaching a deal for a ceasefire in Gaza and a hostage release deal.
Those comments came after Hamas again rejected a proposal for a hostage deal that was presented to it. Israel National News - Arutz Sheva
