Israel in Talks Over Withdrawing From Egypt-Gaza Border, Officials Say

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******* in Talks Over Withdrawing From Egypt-Gaza Border, Officials Say

******* and Egypt have privately discussed a possible withdrawal of ******** soldiers from Gaza’s border with Egypt, according to two ******** officials and a senior Western diplomat, a shift that could remove one of the main obstacles to a cease-***** deal with ******.

After more than nine months of war in the Gaza Strip, the discussions between ******* and Egypt are among a flurry of diplomatic actions on multiple continents aimed at achieving a truce and putting the enclave on a path toward postwar governance.

Officials from both ******, which ruled Gaza before the war, and ******, the political faction that controls the ************ Authority, said Monday that China will host meetings with them next week in an effort to bridge gaps between the rival ************ groups.

And ******* is dispatching its national security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi, to Washington this week for meetings at the White House, according to a statement from the ******** prime minister’s office.

Negotiations for a truce appear to have gained momentum in recent days, but several points of contention remain. One involves the length of a cease-*****: ****** is demanding that it be permanent, while ******* wants one that is temporary.

****** has also said that ******** withdrawal from areas that include the Egypt-Gaza border is a prerequisite for a cease-*****.

The ******** military took control of Gaza’s southern border over the course of May and June.

The operation forced ****** away from a strategically important axis through which the group had long smuggled arms and supplies into Gaza; the ******** military says it has discovered and destroyed numerous tunnels there. But the seizure also strained *******’s ties with Egypt, which warned that the action would cause considerable harm and could threaten Egypt’s national security.

The ******** government is reluctant to withdraw, saying that doing so would make it easier for ****** to restock its arsenal and re-establish authority over Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement on Friday that he “insists that ******* remain on the Philadelphi Corridor,” as some call the border area.

But in private discussions last week with the Egyptian government, senior ******** envoys indicated that ******* might be willing to withdraw if Egypt agreed to measures that would prevent arms smuggling along the border, according to the three officials.

Measures that were proposed included installing electronic sensors that could detect future efforts to dig tunnels, as well as constructing underground barriers to block tunnel construction, the officials said. All three requested anonymity in order to speak more freely about an idea that ******* has not publicly endorsed.

In public, both ******* and Egypt have been reluctant to confirm the existence of the talks. Mr. Netanyahu’s ruling coalition needs the support of lawmakers who are opposed to any truce that could leave ****** in power, and his government could collapse if he acknowledges what his envoys are discussing in private.

When the talks were first reported by ******** news media and Reuters last week, Mr. Netanyahu swiftly dismissed them as “absolute fake news.”

But Mr. Netanyahu’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant, had suggested in a separate statement earlier in the week that ******* could withdraw under certain circumstances.

“A solution is required that will stop smuggling attempts and will cut off potential supply for ******, and will enable the withdrawal of I.D.F. troops from the corridor, as part of a framework for the release of hostages,” the statement said, referring to the ******* Defense Forces.

When asked for comment on Monday, Mr. Netanyahu’s office referred The New York Times to the prime minister’s previous statement. The Egyptian government declined to comment.

With U.S. officials expressing renewed optimism over the past week that long-stalled negotiations for a cease-***** were now progressing, discussions on Gaza’s future have taken on greater urgency, including the prospect of ****** and ****** working together. Previous attempts to mediate between the two groups — including a meeting in Beijing in April — ******* to produce tangible results and many observers have expressed overwhelming pessimism that the talks in the ******** capital will generate a breakthrough.

For China, hosting the meeting between ****** and ****** will serve as yet another opportunity to cast itself as a mediator on the global stage.

In recent years, China has worked to expand its ties and influence in the Middle East, most notably helping to broker the diplomatic rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran last year. It has also deepened its investments in the region, and pledged to expand cooperation with countries there in areas such as artificial intelligence, where the ******* States has sought to isolate China.

Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of ******, will head the group’s delegation to Beijing, according to Mousa Abu Marzouk, a senior ****** official. ****** will dispatch three officials, including Mahmoud al-Aloul, the deputy chairman of the party, to the ******** capital, according to Azzam al-Ahmad, a member of the ****** Central Committee.

He said that China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, would meet with the ************ factions on July 21 and again on July 23, with the two groups meeting on their own in between. China’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“We’re always optimistic, but we say that with caution,” Mr. Ahmad said in a phone call.

****** and ****** have a fraught history and have been at loggerheads for years, each trying to present itself as the legitimate leader of the ************ people and wary that the other will undermine its power. They fought a brief, ******* struggle for control of Gaza in 2007 after ****** won legislative elections.

Their differences were on display over the weekend after ******* ******* dozens of Palestinians in an airstrike in southern Gaza that it said was targeting the leader of ******’s military wing, Muhammad Deif. The fate of Mr. Deif remained unknown on Monday.

The office of Mahmoud Abbas, president of the ******-dominated ************ Authority, said that ******* and the ******* States bore full responsibility for “the terrible massacre,” but suggested that ****** militants had provided ******* with a pretext to ******* ************ civilians by embedding among them. ****** responded by accusing Mr. Abbas’s office of “exempting” ******* from responsibility for its actions.

********* officials have suggested that the ************ Authority should play a central role in governing a postwar Gaza, which would most likely require approval from ******. And a growing number of Palestinians have argued that ****** and ****** need to find common ground to advance the reconstruction of Gaza when the war ends, though many are pessimistic about the prospect.

“There’s still a major divide between ****** and ******, but there’s an absolute necessity that they achieve a national consensus for the administration of Gaza,” said Ibrahim Dalalsha, director of the Horizon Center, a ************ political research group. “In the absence of that, there will be a huge tragedy.”

****** officials have expressed willingness to give up civilian control of Gaza, handing responsibility for rebuilding the enclave to a government of independents, but it has ruled out dismantling its military wing.

******* Nations officials have estimated that rebuilding Gaza will cost tens of billions of dollars. Many countries have designated ****** as a ********** organization, restricting their ability to work with any institutions linked to the group. Creating a Gaza government without formal ties to ****** could make it easier for the ******* States, ********* nations and international organizations to participate in rebuilding.

Aaron Boxerman and Emad Mekay contributed reporting.

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