Gaza ceasefire talks have paused and negotiators will meet again next week seeking an agreement to end fighting between Israel and Hamas and free remaining hostages, as US President Joe Biden says "we're not there yet" but "we are closer than we've ever been".
In a joint statement, the US, Qatar and Egypt said Washington had presented a new proposal in Doha that built on points of agreement in the past week, closing gaps in a way that could allow rapid implementation of a deal.
Mediators would keep working on the proposal, they said.
"The path is now set for that outcome, saving lives, bringing relief to the people of Gaza, and de-escalating regional tensions," they said in the statement on Friday.
On Thursday, Israel and mediators began the latest round in months of talks to end the war in Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.
Palestinian militant group Hamas was not directly involved but was kept briefed on the talks.
A senior Hamas official, Izzat al-Rishq, told Reuters Israel "did not abide by what was agreed upon" in earlier talks, citing what mediators had told them.
In Washington, Biden said a deal was "much, much closer" than before the talks began.
“We may have something,” Biden said as he left the White House for Camp David on Friday. “But we’re not there yet.
"It's far from over. Just a couple more issues, I think we got a shot."
A senior administration official said the latest negotiations were the most productive in months, and negotiators would reconvene next week in Cairo hoping to conclude it.
Biden said in a statement he had directed his negotiating team to put forward the comprehensive bridging proposal presented on Friday, which he said offered the basis for a final agreement on a ceasefire and hostage release deal.
The US president said he spoke with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who he said expressed strong support for the US proposal.
Biden said he was sending US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Israel to reaffirm US commitment to Israel and "to underscore that with the comprehensive ceasefire and hostage release deal now in sight, no one in the region should take actions to undermine this process".
Israel has insisted that peace will only be possible if Hamas is destroyed, while Hamas has said it will only accept a permanent ceasefire, not a temporary one.
Other difficulties have included deal sequencing, the number and identity of Palestinian prisoners to be released alongside Israeli hostages, control over the Gaza-Egypt border and free movement for Palestinians inside Gaza.
An Israeli official said its delegation in Doha was heading home and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was expected to meet Blinken on Monday.
On Friday, Israeli forces pounded targets across Gaza and issued new orders for people to leave areas it had previously designated as civilian safe zones, saying Hamas had used them to fire mortars and rockets at Israel.
The latest hostilities in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered on October 7 when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1200 people and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel's subsequent military campaign has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to Palestinian health authorities.
Israel has said it eliminated 17,000 fighters from Hamas while also adding the group uses civilians as human shields.
Washington hopes a ceasefire agreement in Gaza can defuse the risk of a wider war.
Iran has threatened to retaliate against Israel after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31.
The US has dispatched warships, submarines and warplanes to the region to defend Israel and deter potential attackers.
Asked on Friday if Iran would continue to hold off on retaliating against Israel now the ceasefire talks had been extended, Iran’s mission to the UN in New York said: “We hope so.”
The senior Biden administration official said Washington warned Tehran about conducting a major missile attack against Israel, "because the consequences could be quite cataclysmic, particularly for Iran".
with AP
