Hamas has accepted a draft agreement for and the release of dozens of hostages, two officials involved in the talks said Tuesday. Mediators the United States and Qatar said Israel and the Palestinian militant group were at the closest point yet to sealing a deal to bring them a step closer to ending 15 months of war.
The Associated Press obtained a , and an Egyptian official and a Hamas official confirmed its authenticity. An Israeli official said progress has been made, but the details are being finalized. All three officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the talks.
91裸聊视频淚 believe we will get a ceasefire,91裸聊视频� U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a speech Tuesday, asserting it was up to Hamas. 91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 right on the brink. It91裸聊视频檚 closer than it91裸聊视频檚 ever been before,91裸聊视频� and word could come within hours, or days.
The United States, Egypt and Qatar have spent the past year trying to mediate an end to the war and secure the release of dozens of hostages captured in that triggered it. Nearly 100 people are still captive inside Gaza, and the military believes at least a third are dead.
Any deal is expected to pause the fighting and bring hopes for winding down the most deadly and Israel and Hamas have ever fought, a conflict that has and .
It would bring relief to the , where Israel91裸聊视频檚 offensive and displaced around 90% of the population of 2.3 million, many .
If a deal is reached, it would not go into effect immediately. The plan would need approval from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu91裸聊视频檚 Security Cabinet and then his full Cabinet. Both are dominated by Netanyahu allies and are likely to approve any proposal he presents.
Officials have before, only for negotiations to stall while the warring sides blamed each other. But they now they can conclude an agreement ahead of the Jan. 20 inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, whose Mideast envoy has joined the negotiations.
Hamas said in a statement that negotiations had reached their 91裸聊视频渇inal stage.91裸聊视频�
In the Oct. 7 attack, Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted another 250. Around half those hostages were freed during a brief ceasefire in November 2023. Of those remaining, families say, two are children, 13 are women and 83 are men.
Israel91裸聊视频檚 retaliatory offensive has killed over 46,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza91裸聊视频檚 Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were combatants.
An Israeli airstrike on a house in central Gaza killed at least 11 Palestinians late Tuesday, hospital officials said. Earlier strikes killed at least 18 people, including two women and four children, according to local health officials, who said one woman was pregnant and the baby died as well.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Israel says it only targets militants and accuses them of hiding among civilians.
A three-phase agreement
The 91裸聊视频� based on a framework and endorsed by the U.N. Security Council 91裸聊视频� would begin with the release of 33 hostages over a six-week period, including women, children, older adults and wounded civilians in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian women and children imprisoned by Israel.
Among the 33 would be five female Israeli soldiers, each to be released in exchange for 50 Palestinian prisoners, including 30 militants who are serving life sentences.
The Israeli official said Israel assumes most of the 33 are alive.
During this 42-day phase, Israeli forces would withdraw from population centers, Palestinians could start and there would be a surge of humanitarian aid, with some 600 trucks entering each day.
Details of the second phase still must be negotiated during the first. Those details remain difficult to resolve 91裸聊视频� and the deal does not include written guarantees that the ceasefire will continue until a deal is reached. That means Israel could resume its military campaign after the first phase ends.
The Israeli official said 91裸聊视频渄etailed negotiations91裸聊视频� on the second phase will begin during the first. He said Israel will retain some 91裸聊视频渁ssets91裸聊视频� throughout negotiations, referring to a military presence, and would not leave the Gaza Strip until all hostages are home.
The three mediators have given Hamas verbal guarantees that negotiations will continue as planned and that they will press for a deal to implement the second and third phases before the end of the first, the Egyptian official said.
The deal would allow Israel throughout the first phase to remain in control of the , the band of territory along Gaza91裸聊视频檚 border with Egypt, which Hamas had initially demanded Israel withdraw from. Israel would withdraw from the Netzarim corridor, a belt across central Gaza where it had sought a mechanism for searching Palestinians for arms when they return to the territory91裸聊视频檚 north.
In the second phase, Hamas would release the remaining living captives, mainly male soldiers, in exchange for more prisoners and the 91裸聊视频渃omplete withdrawal91裸聊视频� of Israeli forces from Gaza, according to the draft agreement.
Hamas has said it will not free the remaining hostages without an end to the war and a complete Israeli withdrawal, while Netanyahu has vowed in the past to resume fighting until Hamas91裸聊视频� military and governing capabilities are eliminated.
Unless an alternative government for Gaza is worked out in those talks, it could leave Hamas in charge of the territory.
In a third phase, the bodies of remaining hostages would be returned in exchange for a three- to five-year reconstruction plan for Gaza under international supervision.
Blinken on Tuesday was for a proposal for Gaza91裸聊视频檚 postwar reconstruction and governance that outlines how it could be run without Hamas in charge.
Growing pressure ahead of Trump91裸聊视频檚 inauguration
Israel and Hamas have come under renewed pressure to halt the war before Trump91裸聊视频檚 inauguration. Trump said late Monday a ceasefire was 91裸聊视频渧ery close.91裸聊视频�
Thousands of Israelis rallied in Tel Aviv on Tuesday night in support of a deal they have long encouraged. 91裸聊视频淭his is not about politics or strategy. It91裸聊视频檚 about humanity and the shared belief that no one should be left behind in darkness,91裸聊视频� said a hostage released earlier from Gaza, Moran Stella Yanai.
But in Jerusalem, hundreds of hardliners marched against a deal, some chanting, 91裸聊视频淵ou don91裸聊视频檛 make a deal with the devil,91裸聊视频� a reference to Hamas.
In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, families of Palestinian prisoners gathered as well. 91裸聊视频淚 tell the mothers of the prisoners to put their trust in the almighty and that relief is near, God willing,91裸聊视频� said the mother of one prisoner, Intisar Bayoud.
And inside Gaza, an exhausted Oday al-Halimy expressed hope from a tent camp for the displaced. 91裸聊视频淐ertainly, Hamas will comply with the ceasefire, and Israel is not interested in opposing Trump or angering him,91裸聊视频� he said.
A child born in Gaza on the first day of the war, Massa Zaqout, sat in pink pajamas in another tent camp, playing with toys. 91裸聊视频淲e91裸聊视频檙e eagerly waiting for a truce to happen so we can live in safety and stability,91裸聊视频� her mother, Rola Saqer, said.
