The ceasefire deal could bring to an end 15 hellish months of war for Gazans [Getty]
US and Qatari mediators have made significant progress overnight toward brokering a ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza and a captive exchange agreement, with a deal possibly being reached by the end of Monday, sources have said.
Reports indicate that Qatar has handed Israel and Hamas a “final” draft of the deal that will allegedly lead to a lasting peace, although some officials have urged caution with other touted deals falling at the final hurdle.
A Hamas source confirmed to Sally Ibrahim, The New Arab’s Gaza correspondent, that the ceasefire would be announced “as soon as today or tomorrow at the latest”. The source also said that the US had delivered the guarantees of the ceasefire deal to Hamas.Â
Three officials acknowledged progress that the talks in Doha had made progress but the coming days will be critical to ending more than 15 months of fighting that has left at least 46,565 Palestinians dead, the vast majority of whom are civilians, and seen much of the enclave uninhabitable.
One of the three officials and a Hamas official said there were still a number of hurdles to clear. On several occasions over the past year, US officials have spoken about being on the verge of reaching a deal, only for the talks to fail at the final moment.
One person familiar with the talks said there had been a breakthrough overnight and there was a proposed deal on the table. Israeli and Hamas negotiators will now take the offers back to their leaders for final approval, the person said.
The person said mediators from Qatar had put renewed pressure on Hamas to accept the agreement, while President-elect Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, was pressing the Israelis. Witkoff recently joined the negotiations and has been in the region in recent days.
The head of Israel’s Mossad foreign intelligence agency, David Barnea, and Biden’s top Middle East adviser, Brett McGurk, were both in the Qatari capital, Doha.
Barnea’s presence meant high-level Israeli officials needed to sign off on any agreement are once again involved in the negotiations, in another positive sign that a deal could be reached.
Joe Biden spoke on Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the White House said, and US officials are racing to reach a hostage and ceasefire deal before Biden leaves office on 20 January.
An Egyptian official confirmed this timeline, saying there had been good progress overnight but that it would likely take a few more days to finalise.
Both sides were aiming for a deal before Trump’s 20 January inauguration. A third official said the talks were in a good place but had not been wrapped up, but agreed a deal would be possible before the inauguration.
A Hamas official, however, said a number of contentious issues still need to be resolved, including an Israeli commitment to ending the war and details of the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and the hostage-prisoner exchange. The official was not authorised to brief media and spoke anonymously.
The Egyptian official confirmed that those issues were still being discussed. Â
Months of negotiations have repeatedly led nowhere, with Israel refusing to commit to ending its brutal assault on the Palestinian territory and insisting on keeping troops on the ground.
The sides have also been divided over the details of the planned exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, as well as the nature of the ceasefire itself.
Hamas has said it will not release the remaining captives without an end to the war, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the campaign until “total victory” over the militant group.
Under discussion now is a phased ceasefire. Netanyahu has repeatedly signalled he is committed only to the first phase, a partial hostage release in exchange for a temporary halt in fighting.
The possibility of a lasting ceasefire and other issues would be negotiated after the first phase begins. Hamas has demanded a full withdrawal and a complete end to the war. It is hoped this first phase will lead to that outcome.
This comes as reports emerged on Monday that Qadura Fares, the head of the Palestinian Prisoners Authority, was in Doha to meet the negotiating team and prepare a list of Palestinian prisoners to be released as part of the deal. Fares claims that more than 3,000 prisoners would be released, including women and children.
Despite the indications of a deal being close, there are fears that Netanyahu could be compelled to walk away from talks based on pressure from the far-right component of his governing coalition.
On Monday, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said his Religious Zionism party “will not be part of” the emerging hostage-ceasefire deal, which he called a “catastrophe for Israel’s national security”.
Agencies contributed to this report
