AFP :
Hopes were dwindling Thursday for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, where fighting raged despite pressure from the United States on Israel and Palestinian fighters Hamas to reach an agreement.
After more than 10 months of conflict, officials from the United States and Arab mediators Egypt and Qatar had been set to meet in Cairo for a new round of talks this week, but confirmation was still pending.
Diplomatic efforts have intensified amid the risk of a wider war following killings, widely blamed on Israel, that sparked threats of reprisals from Iran and its allies.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday ended his latest tour of the Middle East, aimed at finalising a ceasefire, without a breakthrough.
In a phone call later, President Joe Biden pushed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept a deal, amid pressure from pro-Palestinian protesters at the US Democratic party’s convention ahead of a November presidential election.
“The president stressed the urgency of bringing the ceasefire and hostage release deal to closure and discussed upcoming talks in Cairo to remove any remaining obstacles,” the White House said.
Biden also reassured him of the efforts of the United States — Israel’s main ally and weapons supplier — to support it against threats from Iran and its proxies.
Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic party’s candidate in the US presidential election, also took part in the call.
Netanyahu, a hawkish political veteran leading a fragile right-wing coalition, has reportedly disagreed on a key sticking point — the removal of Israeli troops from the border between Gaza and Egypt.
His office confirmed the phone conversation, without elaborating on its content.
Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper quoted “officials knowledgeable about the negotiations” as saying “the chances for a deal are slim” but attempts were being made to hold talks in Cairo on Friday and Saturday.
It said, quoting the same source, that Netanyahu insisted on an Israeli army “presence along the Philadelphi Corridor” and that the United States “demanded a significant withdrawal of troops” in two stages.
The daily said “the Americans understood the mistake” made by Blinken when he announced during his visit to Israel that Netanyahu had accepted a US proposal to bring the two sides closer together and that “the ball was now in Hamas’s court.”
It said US Middle East envoy Brett McGurk had been sent to Cairo to prepare for the meeting and to seek to resolve the Philadelphi Corridor issue.
Hamas on Sunday said the US proposal “responds to Netanyahu’s conditions” and accused him of “obstructing an agreement.”
In its statement, Hamas cited Netanyahu’s “insistence on continuing to occupy” the Philadelphi corridor and two other areas, which Israel sees as important for preventing the flow of weapons into Gaza.