Tuesday, January 14, 2025 - US, Qatar, Hamas and Israeli officials now believe a ceasefire in Gaza is on the war a midnight "breakthrough" in talks attended by envoys of both outgoing US President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump.
Biden said a ceasefire and hostage release deal he had championed was on
"the brink" of coming to fruition and Hamas said it was keen on
reaching an agreement.
"The deal ... would free the hostages, halt the fighting, provide
security to Israel and allow us to significantly surge humanitarian assistance
to the Palestinians who suffered terribly in this war that Hamas started,"
Biden said in a speech to highlight his foreign policy achievements.
The official briefed on the talks, said the text for a ceasefire and
release of hostages was presented by Qatar to both sides at talks in Doha,
which included the chiefs of Israel's Mossad and Shin Bet spy agencies and
Qatar's prime minister.
Another round of talks is planned in Doha on Tuesday morning to finalise
remaining details, with Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Biden's
envoy Brett McGurk expected to attend, as they had on Monday, the official
said.
An Israeli official said negotiations were in advanced stages for the
release of up to 33 hostages as part of the deal. The Hamas delegation in Doha
issued a statement after a meeting with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad
Al-Thani saying talks were progressing well.
Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told reporters
the negotiations were at a "pivotal" point, with gaps between the two
sides slowly getting removed.
"I think there is a good chance we can close this ... the parties
are right on the cusp of being able to close this deal," he said.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the sides were "closer
than we've ever been" to a deal, and the ball was in Hamas' court.
"We are very hopeful that we get it over the finish line, finally
after all this time," he told MSNBC, adding that the proposed deal was
based on a framework Biden put out in May.
Blinken said negotiators wanted to make sure Trump would continue to
back the deal on the table so Witkoff's participation has been
"critical."
Israel's Kan radio, citing an Israeli official, reported on Monday that
the Israeli delegation had briefed Israel's leaders. Israel, Hamas and the
foreign ministry of Qatar did not respond to requests for confirmation or
comment.
Officials on both sides, while stopping short of confirming that a final
draft had been reached, reported progress.
"The negotiation over some core issues made progress and we are
working to conclude what remains soon," a Hamas official told Reuters on
Monday.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar told reporters: "There is
progress, it looks much better than previously. I want to thank our American
friends for the huge efforts they are investing to secure a hostage deal."
The warring sides have agreed for months broadly on the principle of
halting the fighting in return for the release of hostages held by Hamas and
Palestinian detainees held by Israel.
But Hamas has always insisted a deal must lead to a permanent end
to the war and Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, while Israel has said it will not
end the war until Hamas is dismantled.
Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration is now widely seen as a de facto deadline.
Trump has said there would be "hell to pay" unless hostages held by
Hamas are freed before he takes office, while Biden has also pushed hard for a
deal before he leaves.
The United States, Qatar and Egypt have worked for more than a year on
talks to end the war in Gaza.
In Cairo, an Egyptian security official told Reuters the draft sent to
the two warring sides did not comprise the final agreement but "aims to
resolve outstanding issues that had hindered previous negotiations".
Sullivan said Biden would soon speak with Egyptian President Abdel
Fattah al-Sisi about the negotiations.
Israel's Channel 12 said Israeli health institutions had been told to
prepare for the intake of weak and sick hostages.
The official who first disclosed the draft said talks went on until the
early hours of Monday, with Witkoff pushing the Israeli delegation in the
Qatari capital Doha and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman
Al Thani pushing Hamas officials to finalise an agreement.
Israel launched its war in Gaza after Hamas fighters stormed across its
borders in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250
hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Since then, more than 46,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials, with much of the enclave laid to waste and most of its population displaced.
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