Hamas exchanged dozens of prisoners with the occupation during the truce late last November (Al Jazeera)

The Axios news website quoted informed sources as saying that US envoy Brett McGurk informed the Israelis of the necessity of reaching an agreement with the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and sending a delegation to the Paris talks, while the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported that Benjamin Netanyahu’s government would grant its negotiating delegation broader powers.

McGurk - who is currently visiting Tel Aviv - told the Israeli side that President Joe Biden's administration sees an urgent need to reach a prisoner exchange deal due to the conditions of Israeli detainees and the approaching month of Ramadan, according to what was reported by Axios.

According to the same sources, the American official urged Israel to send a delegation to the Paris talks scheduled to be held tomorrow, Friday, with the participation of CIA Director William Burns and Qatari and Egyptian officials.

McGurk conveyed a message to the Israelis that there is progress in negotiations between Hamas and the Qatari and Egyptian mediators and that the movement is “ready to show flexibility,” according to the Axios report.

This is the second tour of its kind in Paris with the participation of the head of the CIA, to reach understandings regarding a ceasefire in Gaza and the exchange of prisoners.

The previous talks were held in the French capital late last month and resulted in setting a framework for a possible agreement, followed by a meeting in Cairo on February 13.

The Cairo discussions ended with the departure of the Israeli delegation, led by Mossad chief David Barnea, without achieving progress, amid disagreements between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and security officials regarding negotiating powers and details of the potential deal.

While Israel and the United States want an interim agreement that includes a temporary truce during which the Israeli prisoners will be released, Hamas stresses that any agreement must lead to a final ceasefire, the withdrawal of the occupation forces from the Gaza Strip, and the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners.

McGurk meets Gallant

The official Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported today that Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant informed McGurk during their meeting that the government will give “the negotiating delegation a broader mandate to release the detainees, and at the same time we will promote the expansion of the ground operation in Gaza.”

The Commission did not provide details regarding the new powers of the Israeli negotiating delegation.

McGurk - the White House coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa - arrived in Israel on Thursday after a visit to Egypt to discuss ways to reach a prisoner exchange deal and a ceasefire in Gaza for an extended period.

Meanwhile, Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen told the Walla news site, “It is clear that heavy and painful prices must be paid for the return of the kidnapped people, but not at any price.”

Cohen believed that one of Hamas' demands "is that we lose the war and we cannot agree to that." He also stated that there are those who want Israel to "lower the priorities of the war's goals, and it is not right for us to do that."

The United States provides broad political support to Israel in its war on Gaza, as well as an air bridge to supply it with thousands of tons of weapons, but it recently urged it to reach an extended truce and conclude a prisoner exchange deal in light of the war continuing for more than 4 months without achieving the declared Israeli goals of eliminating Hamas and the return of detainees.

Sanders called on the US administration to cut off aid to Netanyahu and his government (French - Archive)

Criticism of the US Congress

In a related context, two members of the US Senate called today for stopping aid to Israel and providing protection for the Palestinian people.

Senator Elizabeth Warren said, "I want to emphasize how terrible Netanyahu is, and Biden must rein in him and his right-wing comrades."

Warren believed that freezing military aid to any country that violates international protection of civilians would be a "radical change," and at the same time stressed that security in the Middle East depends on the establishment of a Palestinian state.

For his part, Senator Bernie Sanders said, "We cannot continue giving Netanyahu and his government billions of dollars to continue their war against the Palestinians."

Since last October, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza that has left tens of thousands of martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women, according to Palestinian data, in addition to an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe.

The Qatari-Egyptian mediation led to a truce between Hamas and Israel for a week in late November, during which prisoners were exchanged and limited aid was brought into Gaza.

Source: Axios + Al Jazeera + agencies