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US-led mediators have sent a final draft of a cease-fire proposal to Israel and Hamas after a “breakthrough” in talks over a deal to end the war in Gaza and secure the release of hostages.
People familiar with the matter said the warring parties had come the closest to ending the 15-month conflict since at least July, when an earlier attempt to reach an agreement collapsed.
“The final deal is now with all parties for approval,” a diplomat familiar with the Doha talks said, adding that a “breakthrough” was reached around midnight on Monday. “The next 24 hours will be crucial to reach an agreement.”
It came after a flurry of diplomacy involving US President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Israeli intelligence chief David Barnea and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani.
The US, Qatar and Egypt have struggled for months to reach an agreement to end the conflict and secure the release of about 100 hostages held by Hamas in the besieged enclave, a third of whom are no longer believed to be alive.
But the talks gained momentum after the election of Trump, who has repeatedly demanded that all hostages be freed before his January 20 inauguration. He warned that there would be “hell to pay” otherwise.
A person familiar with the latest negotiations said: “We are close to 98 percent.”
Mediators had earlier expressed hope that they were moving closer to a deal, but Israel and Hamas rebuffed them by refusing to make the necessary concessions to push the deal over the line.
But US President Joe Biden said on Monday that we are “on the brink” of a ceasefire for the hostage deal that is “finally coming to fruition”.
US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said it was “a key point in the negotiations”, adding: “We are close to an agreement and we can get it done this week.”
The mediators must now wait for answers from the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the leadership of Hamas.
In a statement, senior Hamas officials said they had stressed the Palestinian militant group’s “desire to reach an agreement to end the war in Gaza” in talks with a senior Turkish official.
Another person familiar with the negotiations said Israel was waiting for the Hamas leadership to approve the latest proposal, before the parties “engage in final negotiations.”
The change in Netanyahu’s position came down to the fact that ending the war has become a priority for Trump, the person added, saying that “the only difference is Trump. Netanyahu wants to align with Trump” and reach a deal.
Mediators sought to broker a multi-phase deal to end the conflict that erupted after Hamas militants rampaged through southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages, according to Israeli officials.
Israel’s thunderous revenge offensive in Gaza has killed more than 46,000 people, Palestinian officials said, and turned much of the besieged strip into wasteland.
Disagreements between the two sides included where Israeli troops would be redeployed, the return of displaced Palestinians north of the Strip, and how many and which categories of Palestinian prisoners would be released in exchange for hostages.
Israel also demanded that Hamas identify which hostages were still alive.
Hamas has insisted that any deal end with a permanent ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, which Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected.
The latest talks are based on a multi-phase proposal, which would lead to an initial truce of six to eight weeks, during which about 34 hostages, including women, the elderly and the wounded, would be freed.
In return, several hundred Palestinian prisoners will be released from Israeli prisons.
Netanyahu is expected to face resistance from far-right allies in his ruling coalition who oppose ending the war and freeing Palestinians convicted of terror offences. Analysts expect the prime minister to have enough votes to approve the deal.
Far-right ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have threatened to topple Netanyahu’s government if the deal is finalized.
Their opposition is believed to have been decisive in breaking up past rounds of negotiations, according to people familiar with the matter.
Smotrich, Israel’s finance minister, said on Monday that the impending deal was a “disaster” and a “surrender”.
He called on Israel to “conquer and clear the entire strip” and “open the gates of hell in Gaza” until Hamas capitulates and releases the hostages.
Netanyahu met with Ben-Gvir and Smotrich on Sunday in an attempt to convince them not to leave the government over the ceasefire agreement.