Joint Statement Hits +ve Note; Offls Meet Next Week To Try & Reach Deal

A joint statement has been published by Egypt, Qatar, and the US following the latest round of Gaza ceasefire talks in Doha. Says that the US-presented proposal 'builds on areas of agreement over the past week', and 'bridges remaining gaps in a manner that allows for a swiftimplementation of an agreement'.

• Says that mediators 'will continue technical work over the coming days on the details of implementation including...specifics related to hostages [held in] Gaza and [Palestinian] detainees.'
• Taking a rather positive note, the statement says 'Senior officials from our gov'ts will recoonvene in Cairo before end of next week with the aim to conclude the deal under the terms put forward today'.
• Wires report an Israeli official has confirmed the story we noted a short time ago (see 'ISRAEL: Kan-Israeli Delegation To Return Home After Today's Ceasefire Talks', 1437BST), as well as stating that PM Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday 19 Aug.
• The Israeli delegations return home could be taken as a positive sign that they are content with the agreement reached. Notably, given Hamas' absence from these round of talks their assent will naturally be required.