Gaza war end likely in sight, Hamas says ceasefire talks at final stage | World News

“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 on Monday.

Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari told a news conference that concluding talks were underway and this was the closest point the ceasefire deal has ever reached over the past months.

Hamas, on the other end, hoped for this round of negotiations to end in a final deal. A Palestinian source close to the talks told Reuters that the deal could be finalised on Tuesday if “all goes well”.

An Israeli official, however, said even though the talks had reached a critical phase, some details needed to be hammered out: “We are close, we are not there yet”, he said.

Qatari mediators, who acted as the fulcrum of the negotiation, gave Israel and Hamas a final draft of a text for a ceasefire and release of hostages agreement on Monday, an official close to the negotiations said, after what he described as a midnight breakthrough in talks in Doha.

US President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Biden’s envoy Brett McGurk have both attended the talks hosted by Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. Israel is represented by David Barnea, director of the country’s spy service Mossad, and Ronen Bar, director of the Shin Bet internal security agency.

What could a ceasefire do?

If the year-long ceasefire talks turn out to be successful, the war in Gaza lasting 18 long months, which has left the Palestinian land in ruins and rendering people dead and homeless, could eventually come to an end.

A ceasefire would also ease tensions across West Asia, where Gaza’s allies in the West Bank — Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq — were pitted against Israel, raising fears of an all-out war between Israel and Iran.

Hostages, who have remained at the centre-table of negotiations on both sides, would also be recovered. Israel has around 100 hostages, which it wants back from Hamas’s captivity from their first attack, fueling the war. It would then gradually and partially withdraw some of its forces and also free 1,000 Palestinian prisoners during the initial phase, which would last for 60 days, reported Reuters quoting Axios.

What does the US think about a ceasefire?

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the ball was in the court of Hamas. Trump’s approaching January 20 inauguration is now widely seen as a de facto deadline for a ceasefire agreement. Soon to be President, Trump has said there would be “hell to pay” unless hostages held by Hamas are freed before he takes office.