Mediators were aiming on Wednesday to clinch a deal within days between Israel and Hamas on a cease-fire that would release hostages held in Gaza, after more than a year of devastating war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and destroyed much of the enclave.
Neither Israel nor Hamas has publicly endorsed the agreement, but the Palestinian group said on Tuesday that the negotiations had entered their “final stages.”
In order to implement the deal, Hamas’s negotiating team at the talks in Doha, Qatar, must obtain the consent of the group’s commanders in Gaza, including Mohammad Sinwar, whose brother Yahya led the group before being killed by Israel in October.
Hamas officials did not respond to questions about whether Mr. Sinwar had replied to the proposal. But two Israeli security officials said that objections raised by Mr. Sinwar to a draft agreement had been resolved and estimated that a deal could be concluded within the coming 24 to 48 hours.
A Hamas official aware of the talks said that its negotiators were working to have details finalized by the end of Wednesday or Thursday but that negotiations were still ongoing and that the timing was not clear.
Officials interviewed for this article spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy.
Outstanding issues included maps of how Israeli forces would redeploy inside Gaza during the cease-fire, as well as lists of Palestinian prisoners slated for release in exchange for Israeli and foreign hostages, one of the officials said.
Israel has also demanded a system to prevent armed fighters from returning to northern Gaza. Mediators are also trying to iron out details on inspections of the hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians who would be expected to head to northern Gaza from the south, where many have been displaced, in the event of a truce, the official said.
The latest round of talks is being held in Qatar, a key mediator alongside Egypt and the United States. Majed al-Ansari, the spokesman for the Qatari Foreign Ministry, said on Tuesday that the two sides had overcome major disagreements.
In Israel, some hard-line members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government have also voiced opposition to the deal. But on Wednesday, Gideon Saar, the Israeli foreign minister, said he believed that a majority would sign off on an agreement if it came to a cabinet vote.
Months of shuttle diplomacy have failed to end the war in Gaza, which began after Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 that killed 1,200 people and saw 250 taken hostage. Around 105 captives were later released in a weeklong cease-fire in November 2023 in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.
Israel and Hamas have since held numerous rounds of indirect talks, all of which ultimately collapsed amid mutual recriminations. Officials familiar with the negotiations have expressed cautious optimism while noting that there is always a chance that the discussions will founder.
The current deal is broadly similar to a three-phase cease-fire framework publicized by President Biden in late May, according to several officials familiar with the talks. On Wednesday, Yossi Fuchs, Mr. Netanyahu’s cabinet secretary, posted on X that the latest proposal was the same as the one from May.
Under the May proposal, Israel and Hamas would first observe a six-week cease-fire in which Hamas would release women, older men, and ill hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinians jailed by Israel, and 600 trucks carrying humanitarian relief would enter Gaza daily.
The proposal also calls for Hamas to release three female hostages on day one of a deal, four more on day seven, and another 26 over the following five weeks, according to a copy of the document obtained by The Times. At the same time, Israel would be required to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners during the initial six weeks.
A minimum of 60,000 temporary homes and 200,000 tents would also be brought into Gaza during the initial phase.
During the second phase of a deal, Israel and Hamas would declare a “permanent cessation of hostilities,” Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza and the remaining living hostages would be swapped for Palestinian prisoners. But the details have been a major point of contention: For months, Hamas demanded Israel commit to ending the war, which Israel resisted.
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