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Israel and Hamas peace deal breakthrough is announced
A breakthrough in talks between Israel and Hamas was announced today as mediator Qatar presented delegations with a ‘final’ draft of ceasefire terms and a hostage release agreement towards ending the war in Gaza after 14 gruelling months.
An official briefed on the negotiations told Reuters that progress was made in Doha after midnight following talks between Israel’s spy chiefs, President-elect Trump’s Middle East envoy and Qatar’s prime minister.
The anonymous official claimed both sides had been presented with terms, as others emerged from talks assuring progress had been made towards resolving the last few issues of contention.
Biden ‘stressed the immediate need for a ceasefire in Gaza and return of the hostages with a surge in humanitarian aid enabled by a stoppage in the fighting under the deal,’ it said.
Israel’s foreign minister assured today that Israel wanted the deal, suggesting it was up to Hamas to agree. Both sides have accused each other of stalling negotiations.
The shape of a deal with Hamas remains controversial, with Israeli politics deeply divided over the issue. Finance Minister Bezalel Smortrich, head of one of the hardline nationalist religious parties in the ruling coalition, denounced the deal as a ‘surrender’.
‘The deal that is taking shape is a catastrophe for the national security of the state of Israel,’ Smotrich said in a statement.
Israeli media reported on Saturday that 90 per cent of the details outlined in a prisoner swap agreement have already been agreed. Hamas has not made an official comment, but an official hinted that a number of contentious issues still need to be resolved.
Mediators made significant progress overnight toward brokering a ceasefire, but are yet to reach a watertight deal, officials said Monday.
Three officials told the Associated Press that progress has been made and said the coming days would be critical for ending more than 15 months of fighting that has destabilized the Middle East.
They spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the talks.
One of the three officials and a Hamas official said that there were still a number of hurdles to clear.
On several occasions over the past year, U.S. officials have said that they were on the verge of reaching a deal, only to have the talks stall.
One person familiar with the talks said there had been a breakthrough overnight and that there was a proposed deal on the table.
Israeli and Hamas negotiators will now take it back to their leaders for final approval, the person said.
The person said that mediators from Qatar had put renewed pressure on Hamas to accept the agreement, while U.S. 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 source added that the mediators had handed off the draft deal to each side and that the next 24 hours would be pivotal.
An Israeli source told Reuters today that Israel had not yet received a draft proposal for a deal, after another said Qatar had handed both sides a ‘final’ draft.
A Hamas official said that a number of contentious issues still need to be resolved, including an Israeli commitment to ending the war and details about the withdrawal of Israeli troops and the hostage-prisoner exchange.
The official wasn’t authorized to brief media and spoke anonymously.
An Egyptian official said that there had been good progress overnight, but that it would likely take a few more days, and that the sides were aiming for a deal before Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20.
Another said that the talks were in a good place, but hadn’t been wrapped up. That official also assessed that a deal was possible before the inauguration.
Netanyahu has repeatedly signaled that he is committed only to the first phase, a partial hostage release in exchange for a weekslong 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 complete end to the war, and is hoping that this first phase will lead to that outcome.
A deal could weaken Netanyahu’s coalition, which includes two far-right factions that have threatened to leave the government if Israel makes too many concessions.
Members of the opposition have promised to give Netanyahu the support that he needs to approve a hostage release, but the hardliners’ anger could be a source of instability down the road.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza on Monday meanwhile said 19 people were killed in the Palestinian territory in the past 24 hours, taking the overall death toll to 46,584.
The ministry said at least 109,731 people have been wounded in more than 15 months of war between Israel and Hamas, triggered by the Palestinian group’s October 7, 2023 attack.
Israel launched its assault 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.
DAILY MAIL