By Barak Ravid

President Trump said during a Cabinet meeting Thursday that “we are getting closer” to a deal to free the remaining hostages in Gaza and re-establish a ceasefire.

Why it matters: White House envoy Steve Witkoff and Egyptian mediators are trying to hammer out an interim deal that would be acceptable to both Israel and Hamas.

• Israeli officials tell Axios the likelihood of reaching a new deal in the next two weeks has increased significantly, but that significant gaps remain.

Catch up quick: On March 17, Israel resumed the war in Gaza with a series of massive airstrikes against what it described as Hamas targets all across the enclave.

• Since then, IDF forces have undertaken a renewed ground invasion of Gaza with the aim of reoccupying 25% of its territory to press Hamas to agree to release more hostages.
• Indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas over the past four weeks — mediated by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar — haven’t produced a breakthrough.
• “I’d like to see the war stop. And I think the war will stop at some point that won’t be in the too distant future,” Trump said Monday during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Driving the news: Israel rejected Hamas’ latest proposal, which called for a 50-day ceasefire in which five hostages would be released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, and humanitarian aid — which Israel cut off to increase the pressure on Hamas — would be resumed.

• Under the Hamas proposal, Israel would also withdraw from the parts of Gaza it recently reoccupied and agree to open serious negotiations to end the war.
• Israel has rejected Hamas’ position and is demanding the release of 11 live hostages and the remains of 16 deceased hostages.
• The Egyptians proposed a compromise proposal for the release of eight live hostages and eight dead hostages. Israel and Hamas haven’t accepted that proposal.

Behind the scenes: Two Israeli officials said in recent days Israel, the U.S. and Egypt have been discussing a new bridging proposal.

• The Israeli officials noted that several drafts have been exchanged between Israel and Egypt in an attempt to close the gaps between the Egyptian proposal and the Israeli position, but no agreement has yet been reached.
• The Israeli officials confirmed there has been progress in the talks between Israel and Egypt, but stressed that for now Hamas is not taking an active part in the negotiations and hasn’t been presented with the bridging proposal that is being discussed.

White House envoy Steve Witkoff presented an updated U.S. proposal for extending the Gaza ceasefire deal by several weeks in return for additional hostage releases by Hamas and the resumption of humanitarian aid to Gaza, four sources with direct knowledge tell Axios.

Why it matters: The proposal is an effort by the Trump administration to buy more time for negotiations and prevent the resumption of the war during the holy month of Ramadan and the Jewish holiday of Passover, two sources said.

The U.S. gave Hamas a new proposal through Qatari mediators in an effort to release American hostage Edan Alexander and break the stalemate in the Gaza ceasefire negotiations, one U.S. official and one Israeli official said.

Why it matters: It isn’t clear if Hamas will accept the proposal that hinges on releasing Alexander in return for a statement by President Trump calling for calm in Gaza and resuming negotiations over a broader ceasefire deal.

Source: Axios.com