Qatar said negotiations for a Gaza truce and hostage release were in their “final stages” Tuesday, expressing hope that an agreement could be reached “very soon.”
Qatar, Egypt, and the United States have intensified efforts to broker a ceasefire that would enable the release of hostages taken during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
Late Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a meeting with top security officials to discuss the deal, his office said.
“The ball is now in Hamas’ court,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said earlier. “If Hamas accepts, the deal is ready to be concluded and implemented.”
President Joe Biden and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said in a phone call Tuesday that both sides needed to show “flexibility” to finalize the deal, according to a statement from Sisi’s office.
Biden had said the day before that an agreement was “on the brink” of being finalized, ahead of his successor Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said Tuesday the talks were nearing completion.
“Certainly we are hopeful that this would lead very soon to an agreement,” Ansari said. “But until there is an announcement… we shouldn’t be over-excited.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, speaking during a visit to Rome, said there was “true willingness from our side to reach an agreement.”
High Stakes
Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, the deadliest in Israel’s history, left 1,210 people dead, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli figures.
On that day, militants also took 251 people hostage. Of those, 94 remain in captivity, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign in Gaza has killed 46,645 people, a majority of them civilians, according to Gaza’s health ministry. The United Nations has said those figures are reliable.
‘Act Now’
Relatives of Israeli hostages and Palestinians in Gaza waited anxiously as talks continued.
“Time is of the essence,” said Gil Dickmann, cousin of former hostage Carmel Gat, whose body was recovered from a Gaza tunnel in September.
“Hostages who are alive will end up dead. Hostages who are dead might be lost,” Dickmann told AFP at a rally in Jerusalem. “We have to act now.”
In Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, Umm Ibrahim Abu Sultan said she had “lost everything” in the war.
“I am anxiously awaiting the truce,” said the mother of five. “I will cry for days on end.”
Proposed Deal Details
Israeli media and sources close to the talks said the first phase of a deal would see 33 Israeli hostages released. Two Palestinian sources close to Hamas told AFP that Israel would free about 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange.
Israeli media reported that under the proposed deal, Israel would maintain a buffer zone inside Gaza during the first phase of implementation.
Hamas expressed hope for a “clear and comprehensive agreement” and said it had updated other Palestinian factions on the “progress made.”
Successive rounds of talks last year failed to end the deadliest war in Gaza’s history.
Internal Opposition
Far-right members of Netanyahu’s government voiced opposition to the deal.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir called it a “disastrous deal.” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also said Monday he would oppose any agreement to halt the war.
However, Saar said Tuesday he believed “a majority in this government” would support a hostage deal.
‘Harsh and Bloody’
Talks have been hindered by disagreements over ceasefire terms, humanitarian aid for Gaza, and the presence of Israeli troops.
Netanyahu has rejected a full withdrawal from Gaza and opposes Palestinian governance of the territory.
Blinken said Tuesday that Israel must “accept reuniting Gaza and the West Bank under the leadership of a reformed” Palestinian Authority and pursue a “path toward forming an independent Palestinian state.”
Meanwhile, Israeli forces pounded targets across Gaza.
Gaza’s civil defense agency said overnight airstrikes and shelling killed at least 18 people.
“Last night was harsh and bloody,” said spokesman Mahmud Bassal.
The Israeli military said it “conducted several strikes on Hamas terrorists.”
In the West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said an Israeli airstrike on the Jenin refugee camp killed six people. The Israeli military confirmed an attack in the area.
