Background Press Call on Ceasefire Negotiations and Joint Statement from the Leaders of the United States, Egypt, and Qatar
Via Teleconference
1:50 P.M. EDT
MODERATOR: Hey, good afternoon, everyone. Thanks so much for joining today’s call, and apology for our delay in getting started here.
Just a little housekeeping before we get started. As a reminder, this call is on background, attributable to a senior administration official, and the contents of the call are embargoed until its conclusion.
For your awareness, not for your reporting, on the call today we have [senior administration official]. I’ll turn it over to [senior administration official] for a few words at the top, and then we’ll take over your questions.
[Senior administration official], we’ll turn it over to you.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Thanks, Eduardo. And thanks, everybody, for joining. I’m calling here from Doha after a very constructive two days — over two days here in Doha, which I’ll talk about.
But we just finished two calls with the President and President Al-Sisi of Egypt and Sheikh Amir Tamim of Qatar. I think there was a consensus between all three leaders that this process, which obviously has been ongoing for months, is now in the end game. The leaders talked about a final bridging proposal that the United States put on the table today, late in the day here in Qatar, with the full support of Egypt and Qatar as mediators. And we will be reconvening in Cairo, at this level, before the end of next week, with an aim to close out this process once and for all. And a readout for those calls should be coming around fairly soon.
The leaders also, obviously, talked about the broader regional situation and everything we are doing to ensure that any new attacks or escalations are not only deterred, but also to make very clear that, you know, should an attack occur, the consequences of it would be — could be quite serious for the region and also, in particular, for Iran.
So that is an ongoing backdrop to those calls. But the calls, I thought, were building on the constructive atmosphere over the last two days and, I think, set a very positive agenda over the coming week.
Let me talk briefly about Doha. There’s a lot of prep work that led up to these two days. I thought the two days here in Doha probably were the most constructive 48 hours that we’ve had in this process in many months. The Israeli team that was here was empowered — clearly empowered. We made a lot of progress on a number of issues that we’ve been working on. Hamas officials, of course, are here in Doha, and senior officials from Qatar and Egypt were able to engage with them throughout the two days.
Towards the end of today, we put down a final bridging proposal, which you have seen in the joint statement from the United States, Egypt, and Qatar — which the three of us, collectively, believe basically bridge nearly all of the remaining gaps that have been under discussion for really the last six weeks.
And just to put some color on that: As you know, Israel put down a proposal on May 27th, that was the basis of the President’s speech on May 31st, that basically was a culmination of months of effort and that basically encapsulated the main elements of the deal that we think is a very good deal, which is why the President laid out its terms on May 31st. The President also made clear in that speech that there was still more work to do, particularly in the implementation arrangements of the deal.
On July 3rd, Hamas came back with a response to that, with a number of changes, many of which were not acceptable but many of which were a basis for further discussion. And Israel, on July 27th, issued some clarifications to the text. And basically, what we’ve done is taken the gaps that remain and have bridged those in a way that we think basically is a deal that is now ready to close and implement and move forward.
There is still more work to do. And over the course of this week, there are working group engagements to talk about everything from the list of hostages and the sequence by which hostages would be released; the list of Palestinian prisoners, because, ultimately, this is an exchange similar to what you saw in the November ceasefire deal. And this is extremely complicated. And a large basis of the talks over the course of the last two days were about that issue, that exchange issue, which, in the nomenclature, is known as the keys. And there were some gaps there and some trade space between the parties, which I think we’ve now gone a long way to bridge.
And again, our focus is getting the hostages out of Gaza and getting them out a lot, particularly in this first phase. I think you’re all well familiar with the phasing of the deal; we talked about it so much.
Also, over the course of this week, there will be further meetings here in Doha and also in Cairo to talk about some of these issues. And we will be beginning the process to stand up an implementation cell for the deal, particularly — which was in the readout, or, sorry, in the joint statement we issued together with Qatar and Egypt earlier today — on the extensive humanitarian provisions and making sure that those would all be implemented rapidly once the deal is concluded.
And I think — I want to be sure, given all the focus on some elements of the deal, that not lost in that is the significant humanitarian provisions in the deal, and not only the amount of aid, but also clearing rubble, rehabilitation of medical services, electricity, everything else. Again, this is all laid out in the deal. I think we’ve laid that out going all the way back to the President’s speech.
So we will be working through, starting earlier this week in Cairo, on the implementation arrangements in a cell to basically oversee the many areas of implementing this deal, not only the humanitarian provisions I mentioned, but also the actual exchange of detainees and hostages and how that will go, as well as other elements of the deal that require some monitoring to make sure that there’s compliance, as you do in any deal like this.
So, that will be ongoing through the week. And then, again, in Cairo, before the end of next week, we will gather again at this level with an aim to conclude this. That is the goal. That is something that President Al-Sisi and President — Amir Tamim just confirmed with the President. And that is something we’ll be driving towards.
Obviously, Secretary Blinken will be traveling to the region, I think starting on Sunday, starting with meetings in Israel. And we will be engaged with this throughout the week.
But the bottom line here, after two days in Doha and going back to the joint leaders’ statement that came out last week between the leaders that, again, just spoke today — the President and President Sisi and Sheikh Tamim — we wanted to really drive this process to get it back on track. I think we very much have done that. And I think there was consensus of all the participants here over the last 48 hours that there’s really a new spirit here to drive this to a conclusion.
I want to be very clear: This is a very difficult, complex deal. It is wrenching because this is about getting hostages out of Gaza. There are elements of the deal that are uncomfortable, just like any deal like this. It is far from perfect, but we think what we have down here now very much reflects the principles that the President laid out, that the U.N. Security Council fully endorsed.
And now, with the additional clarifications and some gaps that have been closed, we think the package is basically there. And so, we’ll be working on it throughout the week. I’m sure we’ll be talking to you guys probably later in the week as we gear up for Cairo next weekend.
And with that, I will take some questions.
MODERATOR: Thanks. Our first question will go to the line of Aamer. You should be able to unmute yourself.
Q Hey. Thank you both. Where does Israel stand on the Philadelphi and Netzarim Corridors after this ceasefire is established?
And, I guess, is it fair to say that Israel is more or less somewhere near that May 31st itineration of this?
And then, secondly, what’s the level of confidence that Iran will hold off on any action on Israel or allies until at least these Cairo talks play out? Thank you.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Let me just take your first question — or, I guess, sorry, your second question first.
And I think Secretary Austin made very clear in his readout earlier this morning, after his call with Minister Gallant of Israel, that we, the United States of America, have moved a significant amount of military resources in a very coordinated fashion with partners and allies, including the French and the Brits and others, to ensure that we have everything in place for every possible contingency. And we are going to do everything that is needed to defend Israel against any attack from Iran.
The President had one word for the possibility of an attack. He said, “Don’t” and “We mean it.” And we’ve demonstrated that with what we have deployed to the region.
We have also been engaged in extensive diplomacy in the region, obviously, but to make clear the consequences should such an attack occur, and also, I think the driving goal to ultimately de-escalate tensions in the region. And Iran claims to those that they are speaking with, including many of my colleagues here from Qatar who are in touch with senior Iranian officials over the last two days as we are here, that they want to see a ceasefire in Gaza, that that is their goal; they want to see a de-escalation of tensions. And of course, that very much remains to be seen.
But now is an opportunity to put their money where their mouth is and to basically work towards the conclusion of this over the coming week.
But these two processes are separate. The ceasefire deal is something that we’ve been working on for many months. We see an opportunity here to try to bring it to resolution. We’re going to do that. We’re also in parallel doing everything we possibly can to ensure we have everything in place for every possible contingency.
And it’s just ironic — it was Hamas, a proxy of Iran, who started this war on October 7th, and it would be ironic if Iran were to do something to basically derail what we think is the best opportunity for a comprehensive ceasefire and hostage release deal that we have had in many months. So, we’re prepared in that regard for all possible contingencies.
On your first question, I’m not going to discuss the details of the negotiation for reasons I think you can understand.
You asked two questions about the deal, so obviously you’re very knowledgeable of it. One of them has to do with the fact that age through the deal at certain phasing. As hostages are released, Israeli forces redeploy in some areas and the population can return to their homes. It is stipulated in the deal that particularly people going from south to north, displaced persons, meaning civilians without arms — that is a core provision of the deal. And obviously, the Israelis want to make sure that that provision is followed through.
We believe, as do the other mediators, that that is a material principle of the deal, and that if anyone is carrying arms from south to north, that would be a violation of the deal. And that is something that was reaffirmed throughout the talks over the last two days.
On the Philadelphi Corridor, we’ve been working very closely with Egypt and others — and also, of course, Egypt through mediation with Hamas — about the arrangements in the Philadelphi Corridor. I think that issue is moving the right way and, I think, very consistent with the May 27th text.
Over.
MODERATOR: Next up, we’ll go to MJ Lee.
Q Hey. Hey, can you hear me?
MODERATOR: Yes, we can.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Got you.
Q Thanks. I had two questions for you. First, on the ceasefire talks, you said the aim is to conclude the talks by next week. I just — I don’t think we’ve ever heard you use that kind of language before, but please correct me if I’m wrong. Does that mean — like, should we take from that that the expectation is that you think that the deal will actually come together next week? Or are you just speaking with, you know, just a renewed sense of urgency here?
And then secondly, on Iran. Israel’s Foreign Minister told his British and French counterparts that if Iran were to attack Israel, Israel would expect a coalition led by the U.S., Britain, and France to join Israel in attacking Iran back. I just wanted to get your response to that and whether that’s correct, that the U.S. would either lead an effort to attack Iran back or actually be involved in that process. I realize it’s a hypothetical, but —
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Yeah, so — thanks, MJ. That first — that second point is very hypothetical. I’d just say we have — as I said, we have deployed the military resources to the region that are needed for every possible contingency, and we’re working in very close coordination with partners and allies. Again, we are ready for any possible contingency, and we’re going to help defend Israel. And I’m not going to get ahead of anything else that —
I’ll just say this attack from Iran has been predicted now I think every day over the last two and a half weeks. So, you know, let’s see. I’ll just say we are prepared — I think you saw that in the Secretary’s statement today — and we are preparing for every contingency. But I’m just going to leave it at that.
Our commitment to helping to defend Israel, we say it all the time: ironclad, unwavering. What does that mean? That means what you’re seeing right now. It’s very clear.
On aim to conclude: Yeah, we aim to conclude this deal. What we put down today was different. We put down a final bridging proposal, a comprehensive text that is very familiar to all the parties, because it is basically the May 27 text with some clarifications based upon subsequent discussions and some of the details and implementation.
So this is a comprehensive arrangement. It has been negotiated for months. And we do believe very strongly — and there’s momentum here in this process to work to bring this to conclusion.
There are a number of reasons to do that: the lives of the hostages, in my mind, first and foremost. We want to save the lives of the hostages and get the hostages out of Gaza. And if you continue to negotiate for months and months and try to get a perfect deal, or every last drop of blood from the stone, you risk having no hostages left to save. And that is not acceptable to us. I think it’s not acceptable to anybody, not acceptable to the Israelis.
So we have to get the hostages out and do it in a way — and I want to be clear about this — that it fully ensures Israel’s security interests — which are also paramount in this; this deal does that — and also stops the war in the first phase of a ceasefire, and brings significant, substantial, badly needed humanitarian relief to Gaza, civilians in Gaza. That’s what’s in this deal.
And what is on the table now basically bridges every gap, and we do believe it’s time to conclude it. And when we get together next weekend, the aim will very much be to do so. But as I’ve said all the time. whenever I talk about this, it is complicated; it is comprehensive, is what we say, because it is a very detailed arrangement of all the things that have to happen, all the moving parts. That’s why we’re working on the implementation cell this week.
So I don’t want to underscore how difficult the coming week will be and then the meetings in Cairo. There’s a lot of work to do here. But we are fully behind it. The President of the United States is fully behind it. His counterparts in the region are fully behind it. And we’re going to do all we can to bring this to conclusion, because the lives of the hostages really can’t wait anymore, and we are quite confident that what this deal does is brings relief to the civilians of Gaza and also ensures the security interests of Israel.
So, we do believe it’s time to bring it to conclusion. We’re going to work to do that over the course of the next week.
MODERATOR: Next up, we’ll go to Steve Holland.
Q Hey, [senior administration official]. When you say that parts of the deal are “uncomfortable,” what do you mean by that? And if you do conclude an agreement next week, when do you envision a ceasefire going into place?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, parts of the deal — we just did a big prisoner exchange with Russia. And so, when you’re trading — and here, there’s an exchange here. You’re exchanging — and think about it from the Israeli perspective — you’re exchanging large numbers of Palestinian prisoners, many of whom have been convicted of very serious crimes against Israelis, for totally innocent people who were taken hostage on October 7th.
So there is an exchange element to the deal that is difficult, like any deal like this. We’ve done them, and you have to do them to save the lives of your citizens. And there are a number of American citizens, of course, who are part of this deal.
But, Steve, that’s what I was getting at. And I think — you know, you’ve been around seeing these things a number of times — there’s great joy in bringing people home because that’s what we have to do, and that’s a commitment and obligation to our citizens. But these are not easy. And sometimes I see, “Well, Israel just has to sign and do it.” Well, yeah, but there’s hard parts of this deal.
And so, you know, it’s not simple; it’s not cut and dry. But the time has come, based on the work that has been done, to bring it to a resolution and get the hostages out of Gaza.
MODERATOR: And we have time for one more question. We’re going to go to the line of Yuna. You should be able to unmute
yourself.
Q Hi. Thank you for this. I hope you can hear me. Just to clarify about next week: So you think that next week there’s a chance to get to the agreement with all the details, or just to get a significant advance on it?
And another question. What is different this time about the motivation from Hamas and Israel to reach a deal? Do you think both sides right now are willing and want to reach a deal this time?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, what’s different is we now have a comprehensive bridging proposal down. So throughout this negotiation, from time to time, as mediators, we have put down bridging proposals on certain issues. We now have a bridging proposal on basically every issue. And so, this is kind of the final stage, end game of the process.
What’s different on Hamas? Hamas — look, Hamas is under tremendous pressure. Tremendous pressure. And basically, they’re holding the people of Gaza hostage by not doing this deal, because what comes with this deal is the war stops — that’s the first phase of the ceasefire — and relief comes to the people of Gaza. Because with the war stopping, the ability to move humanitarian aid all throughout the strip, move in tens of thousands of temporary shelters, to clear rubble, to rehabilitate what is all in the deal — bakeries, medical facilities, everything — it’s all there, and it is ready to move on day one.
And so, the conditions are right to do this deal, first and foremost, to get the hostages out, as I’ve said, and save their lives, but also to bring relief to the people of Gaza. And the way this deal is now structured, there is really no risk to Israel’s security. In fact, I think this deal is structured in a way that it enhances the security of Israel.
So, the elements are really there, and we think it is time to move forward. And I think we found in the last two days in Doha that that very strong desire was held by everybody who was participating. I, of course — we, as the U.S., do not meet with Hamas, but we speak with the Qataris and the Egyptians as they meet with Hamas. I know there’s a lot of public statements from Hamas right now. You know, I wouldn’t take anything too seriously, and we have to see kind of where we are.
But at the end of the day, from what we understand, based on the principles of the May 27 agreement and some of the refinements that have now been put down, this is the time to move ahead with the deal. And should Hamas say no, think about what they’re doing to the people of Gaza — because this is basically now all set up and it’s ready to be implemented.
And so, again, we’re going to do all we can, as the United States of America, not only to try to de-escalate the tension here in the region, to try to deter what Iran has been threatening.
And I just want to say what I said before: I mean, these threats of a major missile attack against Israel, Iran has tried to suggest there’s some legitimacy to such a course of action. There’s actually — there’s absolutely none. A major military attack — there’s nothing that has happened that would justify such an act.
We are prepared to counter, and defend Israel, should that come. But we also would encourage the Iranians — I know many are — not to move down that road because the consequences could be quite cataclysmic, particularly for Iran.
So, again, I think the opportunity — one path that is open now is a path towards a comprehensive ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza. There is an opportunity to get this done, and there’s a very different path should Iran choose to go down that path.
But I’ll just say: We are prepared for all contingencies here in the Middle East, and we’ve been doing that over the last three weeks with all the maneuvers you’ve seen. I think Lloyd spoke to it in his readout of the call with Minister Gallant this morning.
Of course, we are in constant contact with everybody here throughout the region, including, of course, the Israelis, as we help prepare them for defense of a potential attack, which, of course, we hope doesn’t come. We don’t see the need for it. There’s definitely a better course that’s available here.
MODERATOR: That’s all the time we have. Thanks, everyone, for joining. As a reminder, this call was on background to a senior administration official, and the embargo is now lifted. Feel free to reach out to us with any follow-up questions. Thanks again for joining.
2:14 P.M. EDT
