American and Arab mediators made significant progress overnight, towards mediating a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas, and the release of dozens of hostages held in the Gaza Strip, but an agreement has not yet been reached, officials said Monday.
Three officials acknowledged that progress has been made, and said that The next few days will be critical to ending more than 15 months of fighting that have destabilized the Middle East. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the conversations.
One of the three officials and a Hamas official said that There were still several obstacles to overcome. On several occasions over the past year, U.S. officials have said they were on the verge of reaching a deal, only for talks to stall.
A person familiar with the conversations said There was progress during the night and that there was a proposed agreement on the table. Israeli and Hamas negotiators will present it to their leaders for final approval, the person said.
The person said Qatari mediators had put renewed pressure on Hamas to accept the deal, while President-elect Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, put pressure on the Israelis. Witkoff recently joined the negotiations, and has been in the region in recent days.
The person said that The mediators had delivered the draft agreement to each side, and that the next 24 hours would be crucial.
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A possible agreement
An Egyptian official said there was good progress overnight, but that It would probably take a few more days, and that the parties aspired to reach an agreement before Trump’s inauguration on January 20. A third official said that The talks were in a good place but had not been resolved. That official also estimated that it was possible to reach an agreement before the inauguration.
However, a Hamas official said that A number of controversial issues still had to be resolved, as an Israeli commitment to end the war, details on the withdrawal of Israeli troops and the exchange of hostages and prisoners. The official was not authorized to brief the media and spoke anonymously.
The Egyptian official confirmed that those issues were still being discussed.
The Biden administration, along with Egypt and Qatar, has spent more than a year trying to broker an agreement to end the war deadliest war ever fought between Israelis and Palestinians, and securing the release of dozens of hostages captured in the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack that sparked the fighting.
But Parties are divided over details of hostage exchange by Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, as well as the nature of the ceasefire itself. Hamas has said that will not free the remaining captives if the war does not endwhile Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised to continue the campaign until a “total victory” over the armed group.
Phased ceasefire
A phased ceasefire is now being discussed. Netanyahu has reiterated that he is only committed to the first phase; a partial release of hostages in exchange for a pause in fighting of several weeks. The possibility of a lasting ceasefire and other issues, they would be negotiated after the first phase begins. Hamas has demanded a complete withdrawal and a complete end to the war, and hopes this first phase will lead to that outcome.
US President Joe Biden, who hopes to conclude a deal before leaving office next week, spoke to Netanyahu about the talks on Sunday.
The head of Israel’s foreign intelligence agency Mossad, David Barnea, and Biden’s top Middle East adviser, Brett McGurk, were both in the Qatari capital, Doha. Barnea’s presence meant that senior Israeli officials who would have to sign any agreement, are once again involved in the conversations.
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McGurk has been working on the final details of a text that will be presented to both sides, Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN on “State of the Union.” But he said that I would not predict whether an agreement could be reached before January 20the day of the investiture.
“We are very, very close,” he said. “Even so, Being very close still means that we are far away, because until we actually cross the finish line, we’re not there.”
Only a brief ceasefire has been achieved in 15 months of warand that was in the first weeks of fighting. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last week that the deal was “very close,” and he looked forward to completing it. before handing over the diplomatic baton to the incoming Trump administration.
Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed more than 46 thousand Palestinians, the majority women and children, according to the territory’s Ministry of Health, whose count does not give a breakdown between combatants and civilians. Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people and kidnapped about 250 more in the attack that ignited the war.
The families of the approximately 100 hostages still held in Gaza are pressuring Netanyahu to reach a deal to bring their loved ones home. Israelis demonstrated again on Saturday night in the city of Tel Aviv, and showed photos of the hostages.
A Gaza, The Palestinians were tempering their hopes for a halt to the Israeli campaign, which has devastated much of the territory and has driven around 90% of its 2.3 million inhabitants from their homes.
“We hear that there are negotiations every day, but we see nothing”said Mazen Hammad, a resident of the southern city of Khan Yunis. “When we see it on the ground, then we will believe there is a truce.”
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