With the fighting in Iran over, President Trump is considering whether to pursue a new nuclear agreement with Tehran. He is also urging a new cease-fire deal to end the fighting in Gaza.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel is set to meet with President Trump on Monday as attention has turned from Iran to a cease-fire for Gaza.
The decision came after Hamas said it had responded positively to an American-backed cease-fire proposal. President Trump says he hopes for a truce as soon as next week.
Members of the government are poised to decide whether to proceed with negotiations after Hamas said it had responded positively to the latest truce proposal.
It is more secure from threats than at any time since its founding. But the war in Gaza, and attacks on Iran and Lebanon, have undercut Israel’s standing among the world’s democracies.
It was not immediately clear whether the group was demanding any significant changes to the plan for a 60-day truce, hostage-for-prisoner swaps and talks on a permanent end to the Gaza war.
The rise of Izz al-Din al-Haddad in the chain of command suggests the group will hold firm to its position demanding a total end to the war before releasing all remaining hostages.
Hamas wants to ensure that the latest cease-fire proposal has sufficient guarantees that negotiations will lead to a permanent end to the Gaza war.
It is unclear whether the latest U.S.-backed effort can overcome the most entrenched sticking point between Israel and Hamas.
Gideon Saar, the Israeli foreign minister, cited “positive signs” in the long-moribund cease-fire talks to end the war in Gaza and free the hostages held there.