The Biden administration has higher expectations for renewed negotiations between Hamas and Israel, now underway in Doha, with added pressure to prevent a full-blown regional war. CIA Director Bill Burr and U.S. envoy Brett McGurk were both part of Thursday’s renewed talks, which the U.S. said got off to a “promising start.” Secretary of State Antony Blinken has held phone conversations with leaders from many of the countries in the region in an attempt to bolster support for the talks.
Vedant Patel, a State Department spokesperson, said the negotiations have the potential to “get this region out of this constant, endless cycle of violence that we’re seeing,” calling attempts to de-escalate regional tensions a “key pillar” of the negotiations. Israel is widely believed to have assassinated a key negotiator for Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran and killed a senior Hezbollah official, Fuad Shukr, in Beirut, leading to even more pressure over the talks. More than 40,000 Palestinians have died in Israel’s strikes on Gaza since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.
Over the weekend, the Department of Defense moved more assets to the region in anticipation of a possible retaliatory strike from Iran.