Israel skips Gaza talks, frustrating officials who say a deal is close

An Israeli delegation taking part in talks to end the war in Gaza decided not to participate in late-stage negotiations this week, frustrating U.S. officials who believe an agreement is close, according to two people familiar with the situation.

The delegation chose not to attend despite telling the U.S. earlier that they intended to go, said the people, who were granted anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy.

No explanation was given by the Israelis, the people said.

The Israeli embassy in Washington and the National Security Council did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Earlier this week, there were conversations in the highest tiers of the U.S. government about dispatching CIA Director Bill Burns to the region to facilitate talks on an agreement to end a war that began when Hamas militants crossed into Israel on Oct. 7 and took about 250 hostages. Fighting has killed an estimated 36,000 Palestinians, including many civilians.

The plans to send Burns were not finalized, but the CIA director dropped out of the Aspen Security Forum for reasons that weren’t publicly explained.

The decision by the Israelis — though not viewed by the Biden administration as catastrophic to the overall process — frustrated U.S. officials who say they are as confident as they have been in recent weeks that they are close to a deal.

The framework of the agreement on the table is similar to one outlined by President Joe Biden in May. But over the last several weeks both the Israelis and Hamas have made concessions, said a person familiar with the discussions who was granted anonymity to discuss the negotiations.

It’s not clear when the participants in the negotiations, who have at various times included the U.S., Israel, Egypt, Qatar and the Palestinians, will meet in person again.