Mediators handed Israel and Hamas a final draft of an agreement on Monday to end the war in Gaza, after a midnight “breakthrough” in talks attended by US President Joe Biden’s envoys. and President-elect Donald Trump, an official briefed on the negotiations told Reuters.
Biden said a ceasefire and hostage release agreement he had championed was “on the verge” of coming to fruition and Hamas said it was interested in reaching a deal.
“The deal… would free the hostages, stop the fighting, provide security to Israel and allow us to significantly increase humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians who have 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, who declined to be named, said the text for a ceasefire and hostage release was discussed in talks in Doha that included the heads of Israel’s Mossad and Shin Bet spy agencies and the Prime Minister of Qatar.
Another round of talks is planned in Doha on Tuesday morning to finalize the remaining details, with Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Biden envoy Brett McGurk present as they did on Monday , the official said.
An Israeli official said negotiations were at an advanced stage 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 negotiations were progressing well.
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Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told reporters that negotiations were at a “crucial” point, with gaps between the two sides slowly being bridged. “I think there’s a good chance we can get this done… the parties are on the verge of getting this deal done,” he said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the parties were “closer than ever” to a deal, and that the ball was in Hamas’ court.
“We are very hopeful that finally, after all this time, we will be able to reach the finish line,” he told MSNBC, adding that the proposed deal was based on a framework Biden laid out in May.
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Blinken said negotiators wanted to make sure Trump would continue to support the deal being negotiated, so Witkoff’s participation has been “pivotal.”
Israel’s Kan radio, citing an Israeli official, reported on Monday that the Israeli and Hamas delegations in Qatar had received a draft and that the Israeli delegation had informed Israeli leaders. Israel, Hamas and Qatar’s Foreign Ministry did not respond to requests for confirmation or comment.
Officials on both sides, while not confirming that a final draft had been reached, described progress in negotiations.
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“Negotiations on some core issues have progressed and we are working to conclude what remains soon,” a Hamas official told Reuters.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar told reporters: “There is progress, it looks much better than before. I want to thank our American friends for the enormous efforts they are investing in securing a hostage agreement.”
The United States, Qatar and Egypt have been working for more than a year in negotiations to end the war in Gaza.
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In Cairo, an Egyptian security official told Reuters that the draft sent to the two warring sides does not include the final agreement but “aims to resolve outstanding issues that have impeded previous negotiations.”
Israel’s Channel 12 said Israeli government bodies had been instructed to prepare to receive weak and sick hostages.
The warring sides have agreed for months on the general principle of stopping fighting in exchange for the release of hostages held by Hamas and Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. But Hamas has always insisted that a deal must lead to a permanent end to the war and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, while Israel has said it will not end the war until Hamas is dismantled.
