Meeting In Cairo On Three-Phase Ceasefire Agreement In "Coming Days"

Axios’ Barak Ravid reports that a meeting will be held in Cairo, Egypt in the “coming days,” to discuss an emerging “three-phase” ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. During the first stage, Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners will be released in return for a six-week pause in fighting.

• The Israeli War Cabinet will reportedly convene tonight to discuss the details of the first phase, and work on the general outline of the second and third phases.
• A senior Israeli official told Ravid: "The goal is to enter phase [1] with a statement on phases [2] and [3] without closing them in detail,” adding that, "now the Qataris' big test is to get Hamas to say yes and agree to start talking about the details."
• Qatar Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed al Thani, speaking in Washington, appeared to push back on Qatar’s role: “I hear a lot that we have the ability to put pressure on Hamas. Our job is to mediate and put pressure on both sides with words and meetings and proposals.”
• However, al Thani noted: “We are in a better place than where we were a few weeks ago… We hope [Hamas] will agree to conduct negotiations in a constructive manner,” adding that the current phase of talks, “could lead to a permanent ceasefire in the future.”
• According to Reuters, al Thani also cautioned against a heavy-handed US response to the yesterday’s drone attack on US troops: “…retaliation over attack on US soldiers would have an impact on hostage talks and regional security.”