Gaza Talks To Resume, But Without Hamas Presence

Wires reporting that according to an official briefed on the talks, the latest round of Gaza ceasefire negotiations will get underway on 15 August in Doha, with teams from Israel, Qatar, the US and Egypt involved. As we noted in today's US Daily Brief, the talks will not include any representatives from Hamas. NYT reports that “...Hamas will not take part in the talks because its leaders do not think Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has been negotiating in good faith…”

• The Israeli negotiating team is set to include the head of the domestic intelligence agency Shin Bet, Ronan Bar, head of the IDF's abductee headquarters Major General Nitzan Alon, head of the Mossad David Barnea, and PM Benjamin Netanyahu's political advisor Ofir Fleck.
• The non-participation of Hamas means little progress is likely. Hamas argues that it has already accepted an UNSC resolution-based ceasefire agreement. Speaking to Reuters, senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said that, "Hamas is committed to the proposalpresented to it on July 2, which is based on the U.N. Security Council resolution and the Biden speech and the movement is prepared to immediately begin discussion over a mechanism to implement it...Going to new negotiation allows the occupation to impose new conditions and employ the maze of negotiation to conduct more massacres,"
• Times of Israel: "A source familiar with the matter says Hamas wants the mediators to come back to them with a “serious response” from Israel. If that happens, the group says, it will meet with mediators after the Thursday session."