Tel Aviv

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Thursday (Aug 8) that his government agreed to resume the Gaza war ceasefire talks on August 15 at the demand of US, Qatari, and Egyptian mediators. Following a week-long ceasefire in November last year, mediators have endeavoured to secure a second truce in the 10-month-old war.

In a joint statement, the US, Qatar, and Egypt invited the warring parties (Israel and Hamas) to resume talks on August 15 in Doha or Cairo "to close all remaining gaps and commence implementation of the deal without further delay."

Also read | After resisting for months, Israeli PM Netanyahu finally ‘sorry’ for Oct 7 Hamas attack

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A framework agreement was "now on the table, with only the details of implementation" left to conclude, and the mediators were "prepared to present a final bridging proposal" to resolve remaining issues, the statement added. 

Israel to send a negotiating team

On Thursday, Netanyahu's office said that Israel would be sending a negotiating team on August 15  to conclude the details of implementing a ceasefire deal. A report by the news agency AFP said that a prospective cessation of hostilities also involving the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip and scaled-up aid deliveries has centred around a phased deal beginning with an initial truce.

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Recent discussions have focused on a framework outlined by US President Joe Biden in late May which he said had been proposed by Israel. "It's not like the agreement's going to be ready to sign on Thursday. There's still a significant amount of work to do," a senior Biden administration official said of the talks. 

This official said that Israel had been very receptive to the idea of the talks, rejecting suggestions that Netanyahu was stalling on a deal.

Also watch | Israel agrees to resume Gaza truce talks on August 15

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Last week, Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Hamas for a long-stalled deal to end the war in Gaza and release Israeli hostages. "The simple truth is that until this moment, Hamas has not agreed to the most basic terms of the outline. While we have not added a single demand to the outline, Hamas is the one demanding to include tens of changes," he said.

Netanyahu apologises for Oct 7 attack

Also last week, Netanyahu apologised for the October 7 attack by Hamas happening on his watch and warned that Israel now faced a full-fledged Iranian axis. Speaking to Time magazine, the Israeli prime minister said, " ...I am sorry, deeply, that something like this happened. And you always look back and you say, ‘Could we have done things that would have prevented it?"

"We’re facing not merely Hamas. We’re facing a full-fledged Iranian axis, and we understand that we have to organize ourselves for broader defence," he added. 

(With inputs from agencies)