Israeli Broadcasting Authority reported today, Wednesday, that Egyptian and Qatari mediators in an anticipated prisoner exchange deal between Hamas and Israel confirmed that the signing of the exchange agreement will take place before March 10. The authority indicated that the mediators informed the United States of this information and confirmed that the signing would be before the beginning of Ramadan.
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan had previously stated that Israel, Egypt, Qatar, and America reached an understanding regarding the "key features" of the prisoner deal in order to announce a temporary ceasefire. Sullivan added in comments on Sunday that the deal is still under negotiation and that there need to be indirect discussions between Qatar and Egypt with Hamas.
He also mentioned that President Biden has not yet been briefed on Israel's plan regarding the Rafah operation, indicating that Washington sees the necessity of not proceeding with the Rafah operation without a plan to protect civilians.
This came after the resumption of talks in Doha aimed at reaching a ceasefire in Gaza, which will be followed by another round in Cairo involving American, Israeli, and Hamas officials, according to what an Egyptian channel reported on Sunday citing informed sources.
The "Cairo News" channel quoted Egyptian sources stating, "The negotiations for the ceasefire in Gaza have resumed through meetings at the specialist level in the Qatari capital Doha, followed by others in Cairo." The meetings in Doha and Cairo involve specialists from Egypt, Qatar, the United States, and Israel, in addition to a delegation from Hamas.
Earlier this month, Cairo witnessed high-level talks between American, Qatari, and Israeli delegations seeking to halt the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, which did not lead to significant results. On Saturday, the Israeli war council greenlit sending a delegation to Qatar soon to continue discussions that took place recently in Paris, aimed at reaching a ceasefire agreement in Gaza that includes the release of prisoners. An Israeli delegation led by Mossad Chief David Barnea traveled to Paris on Friday to follow up on a ceasefire project discussed in the French capital at the end of January with their American and Egyptian counterparts and the Prime Minister of Qatar.
