Senior Biden adviser to visit Egypt, Qatar for Gaza hostage talks

Senior Biden administration adviser Brett McGurk will travel to Egypt and Qatar this week for talks aimed at advancing discussions related to Israel’s war on Gaza and the release of hostages held by Hamas, according to media reports on Sunday.

The trip is a renewed effort by the Biden administration to strike a prisoner exchange deal, similar to the agreement between Hamas and Israel reached in November last year, US government sources told Axios.

McGurk is expected to meet with Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Doha later this week. In Cairo, he will meet with Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel.

This is McGurk's second trip to the region this month to discuss this issue, following a visit to Doha on 9 January.

The US says that a hostage deal is the only way to reach a ceasefire, while Hamas has said that the release of any hostages is conditional on Israel ending its indiscriminate war on the enclave, which has so far killed over 25,000 Palestinians. 

Though neither Hamas or Israel have agreed to any terms of a new ceasefire, both parties have expressed their willingness to take part in negotiations. It is believed that any proposed deal reached during this round of negotiations would contain a long-term peace deal, including Israel’s invasion force leaving the Gaza Strip, according to Axios.

Last week, McGurk held consultations with Israeli officials regarding the hostage negotiations, while Biden discussed this issue with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday.

John Kirby, the spokesperson for the National Security Council at the White House, also emphasised the gravity of these talks in a press briefing on Friday.

“The discussions we are having are serious and substantive about the possibility of reaching another hostage deal,” Kirby stated.

However, he cautioned that the parties are not on the cusp of an immediate agreement, adding, “We still have a lot of hard work ahead of us.”