US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to the media prior to departure from Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai, United Arab Emorates, Friday, Dec. 1, 2023. The United States remains "intensely focused" on freeing hostages held in Gaza despite the resumption of the Israel-Hamas war after a week-long truce, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday. (Saul Loeb/Pool Photo via AP)

SAUL LOEB

International mediators will resume negotiations for a proposed cease-fire between Israel and Hamas after two days of talks in Qatar which they said were “serious and constructive.”

Discussions will resume in Egypt’s capital Cairo by the end of next week after mediators made a proposal to bridge the remaining gaps between the warring sides, according to a joint statement by mediators Qatar and Egypt as well as the U.S.

“This proposal builds on areas of agreement over the past week, and bridges remaining gaps in the manner that allows for a swift implementation of the deal,” the statement read.

The declaration comes after two days of negotiations that took place in the Qatari capital Doha to pause the war in Gaza.

The various parties worked on a three-stage proposal presented by U.S. President Joe Biden at the end of May, which aims to suspend hostilities, free more than 100 hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and transfer more aid to the Gaza Strip.

Mediators have struggled in previous rounds to resolve a key rift between Israel and Hamas. Israel insists that it will eventually fight on until Hamas is totally destroyed, while the group is demanding that any cease-fire be permanent and all Israeli troops withdraw.

There was significant progress on many elements, according to an Israeli official familiar with the talks, who asked not to be identified as they weren’t authorized to speak publicly. That should enable another principals’ meeting, although gaps still remain over the proposed withdrawal of troops from the Philadelphi Corridor, the southern portion of Gaza that runs along the border with Egypt, the official said.

The war in the Palestinian enclave erupted after Hamas fighters swarmed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people. Israel responded with an air and ground assault and more than 40,000 people have died, according to health officials in Hamas-run Gaza. Hamas is designated a terrorist organization by the U.S.

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