Qatar says Gaza truce talks in 'final stages'
Published: 04:01 PM,Jan 14,2025 | EDITED : 08:01 PM,Jan 14,2025
A boy pulls a cart loaded with salvaged items from the site of Israeli bombardment on a residential block in Jalaa Street in Gaza City. — AFP
DOHA: Key mediator Qatar said negotiations for a Gaza truce and captives release deal were in their 'final stages' on Tuesday, adding that it was hopeful an agreement could be reached 'very soon'. Qatar, Egypt and the United States have stepped up efforts to broker a ceasefire to enable the release of hostages held in Gaza since October 7, 2023. On Monday, US President Joe Biden said a deal was 'on the brink' of being finalised, just days before the inauguration of his successor, Donald Trump.
On Tuesday, Qatar foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said the negotiations were in their 'final stages'. 'We do believe that we are at the final stages... certainly we are hopeful that this would lead very soon to an agreement,' Ansari said, adding 'until there is an announcement... we shouldn't be over-excited about what's happening right now'. 'We have reached a point where the major issues that were preventing a deal from happening were addressed,' he told a news conference. Israel's campaign in Gaza has killed 46,645 people, a majority of them civilians, according to the health ministry in the Palestinian territory, figures that the UN considers reliable.
A source briefed on the Doha negotiations said earlier the heads of Israel's intelligence agencies, the Middle East envoys for the incoming and outgoing US administrations and Qatar's prime minister had been due at the talks. 'Mediators will hold separate talks with Hamas,' the source said. Qatar said later the talks were being held at the 'highest level'.
Sources close to the talks and Israeli media said the first phase of a deal would see 33 Israeli captives released, while two Palestinian sources close to Hamas said that Israel would release about 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange. An Israeli government official said that 'several hundred will be released' as part of the first phase of the deal. Israeli media also reported on Tuesday that under the proposed deal, Israel would be allowed to maintain a buffer zone inside Gaza during the implementation of the first phase.
Hamas said it hoped for a 'clear and comprehensive agreement', adding that it had held consultations with other Palestinian factions and informed them of the 'progress made'. Successive rounds of negotiations had failed to end the deadliest war in Gaza's history. Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich warned on Monday he would oppose any deal that stopped the war. 'The proposed agreement is a catastrophe for Israel's national security,' Smotrich said on X. An outspoken member of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ruling coalition, Smotrich has repeatedly opposed halting the war in Gaza.
Among the key sticking points in the talks have been disagreements over the permanence of any ceasefire and the scale of humanitarian aid for the Palestinian territory. Other points of contention include the return of displaced Gazans to their homes, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Palestinian territory and the reopening of border crossings.
Even as intense diplomatic efforts continued towards a truce deal, Israeli forces pounded targets across Gaza. The territory's civil defence agency said overnight air strikes and shelling killed at least 18 people in Gaza City in the north, the central area of Deir el-Balah and Khan Yunis in the south. The health ministry in Gaza said 61 people were killed in the Palestinian territory over the past 24 hours. — AFP
On Tuesday, Qatar foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said the negotiations were in their 'final stages'. 'We do believe that we are at the final stages... certainly we are hopeful that this would lead very soon to an agreement,' Ansari said, adding 'until there is an announcement... we shouldn't be over-excited about what's happening right now'. 'We have reached a point where the major issues that were preventing a deal from happening were addressed,' he told a news conference. Israel's campaign in Gaza has killed 46,645 people, a majority of them civilians, according to the health ministry in the Palestinian territory, figures that the UN considers reliable.
A source briefed on the Doha negotiations said earlier the heads of Israel's intelligence agencies, the Middle East envoys for the incoming and outgoing US administrations and Qatar's prime minister had been due at the talks. 'Mediators will hold separate talks with Hamas,' the source said. Qatar said later the talks were being held at the 'highest level'.
Sources close to the talks and Israeli media said the first phase of a deal would see 33 Israeli captives released, while two Palestinian sources close to Hamas said that Israel would release about 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange. An Israeli government official said that 'several hundred will be released' as part of the first phase of the deal. Israeli media also reported on Tuesday that under the proposed deal, Israel would be allowed to maintain a buffer zone inside Gaza during the implementation of the first phase.
Hamas said it hoped for a 'clear and comprehensive agreement', adding that it had held consultations with other Palestinian factions and informed them of the 'progress made'. Successive rounds of negotiations had failed to end the deadliest war in Gaza's history. Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich warned on Monday he would oppose any deal that stopped the war. 'The proposed agreement is a catastrophe for Israel's national security,' Smotrich said on X. An outspoken member of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ruling coalition, Smotrich has repeatedly opposed halting the war in Gaza.
Among the key sticking points in the talks have been disagreements over the permanence of any ceasefire and the scale of humanitarian aid for the Palestinian territory. Other points of contention include the return of displaced Gazans to their homes, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Palestinian territory and the reopening of border crossings.
Even as intense diplomatic efforts continued towards a truce deal, Israeli forces pounded targets across Gaza. The territory's civil defence agency said overnight air strikes and shelling killed at least 18 people in Gaza City in the north, the central area of Deir el-Balah and Khan Yunis in the south. The health ministry in Gaza said 61 people were killed in the Palestinian territory over the past 24 hours. — AFP