Progress in talks over Gaza ceasefire, hostage release

Palestinians look for their belongings amid the rubble of destroyed buildings. Pic/AFP

US and Arab mediators made significant progress overnight toward brokering a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war and the release of scores of hostages held in the Gaza Strip, but a deal has not been reached yet, officials said Monday.

Three officials acknowledged progress has been made and said the coming days would be critical for ending more than 15 months of fighting that has destabilized the Middle East.

One of the three officials and a Hamas official said there were still a number of hurdles to clear. On several occasions over the past year, US officials have said they were on the verge of reaching a deal, only to have the talks stall.

One person familiar with the talks said there had been a breakthrough overnight and that there was a proposed deal on the table. Israeli and Hamas negotiators will now take it back to their leaders for final approval, the person said.

The person said mediators from the Gulf country of Qatar had put renewed pressure on Hamas to accept the agreement, while President-elect Donald Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, was pressing the Israelis. Witkoff recently joined the negotiations and has been in the region in recent days.

The person said the mediators had handed off the draft deal to each side and that the next 24 hours would be pivotal.

US President Joe Biden, who hopes to wrap up a deal before leaving office next week, spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the talks on Sunday.

46K
Approx. no. of Palestinians killed since October 7, 2023

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever