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The US-led search for a Gaza ceasefire and hostages release may be close to fruition after a year of on-and-off negotiations, sources told The National on Monday, as senior US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators gathered with Israeli and Hamas negotiators in Doha to finalise a deal.
A draft framework of a possible agreement has been leaked. The text, seen by The National on Monday, proposes a 42-day truce, staggered release of hostages held by Hamas, partial Israeli withdrawal from Gaza as well as the return home of displaced Palestinians and the dispatch of significant amounts of humanitarian assistance, including fuel.
An official close to the talks told The National the parties are waiting for Hamas’s response to the draft before going into a final round of negotiations and that there was a real possibility of a breakthrough. Significant progress has been made and the next few days would be critical, he added.
The draft, the authenticity of which could not be independently verified, makes no mention of some of Hamas's long-standing conditions including a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a permanent ceasefire.
It also makes no mention of Israel's withdrawal from a narrow strip of land called Salah Al Din, also known as the Philadelphi Corridor, that runs the entire length of the Egypt-Gaza border on the Palestinian side and includes the Rafah crossing. The crossing is Gaza's only exit and entry point not controlled by Israel.
The war in Gaza began 15 months ago after Hamas and other militants attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 and kidnapping about 250 others. Israel responded with a devastating military campaign that has to date killed about 46,600 Palestinians and injured more than twice that number, the government in Gaza says. About 2.3 million residents have been displaced.
Hamas and allied militant groups are believed to be still holding about 100 hostages, of whom the Israeli military says as many as 40 have died in captivity. At least 33 hostages, including the remains of the dead, would be released during the initial truce, with women, minors, the elderly and ailing hostages included in the first batch.
“We are very, very close,” US President Joe Biden’s National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday. “Yet being very close still means we’re far because until you actually get across the finish line, we’re not there.”
Mr Sullivan said during a news briefing on Monday that a deal in Gaza could be reached "this week".
“I'm not making a promise or a prediction, but it's there for the taking, and we're waiting for it to make it happen," he said. He added that the Biden administration, which will leave office in less than a week, is closely co-ordinating with Donald Trump's incoming team to “present a united message”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Mr Biden spoke on Sunday about the efforts to reach a deal, in a sign of the intensifying push for a breakthrough before Donald Trump's inauguration next week.
Their call came as the head of Israel’s Mossad foreign intelligence agency, David Barnea, and Mr Biden’s top Middle East adviser, Brett McGurk, were both in the Qatari capital. Mr Barnea’s presence, confirmed by Mr Netanyahu’s office, means high-level Israeli officials needed to sign off on any agreement are now involved in the talks.
In Doha on Monday, Qatar's ruler, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, met separately with Hamas negotiators, Mr McGurk and Steve Witkoff, US president-elect Donald Trump's Middle East envoy.
The White House later released a statement saying Mr Biden has spoken to Sheikh Tamim to discuss "negotiations in Doha for a ceasefire and hostage release deal".
The statement said: "Both leaders emphasised the urgent need for a deal to be implemented to return the hostages ... and bring immediate relief to the people of Gaza through a surge in humanitarian aid enabled by the ceasefire and called for in the deal."
According to the draft, the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons will depend on the commitment of both sides to the terms of the proposed deal, including observing the truce, Israel's withdrawal and the return home of the displaced, as well as the entry of humanitarian assistance.
Israel will halt all aerial activity during the truce for 10 hours every day and 12 on days when the exchange of hostages for detainees is taking place. The fate of 100 Palestinian prisoners and detainees who Hamas wants freed as part of the deal would be discussed at a later stage, the draft says. It stipulates the release of 30 to 50 Palestinians for every hostage freed by Hamas.
The proposed deal provides for the daily arrival of 600 lorries laden with humanitarian assistance, including 50 carrying fuel. Half of the convoy will head to the north of the Gaza Strip, by far the most devastated part of the coastal enclave. Hospitals, bakeries and medical centres would be repaired and brought back into operation.
Machinery to remove debris would enter Gaza during the 42-day truce and at least 60,000 caravans and 200,000 tents would be allowed in to house residents who have lost their homes.
Israel and Hamas will engage in indirect negotiations starting no later than the 16th day of the truce to iron out details of the second phase of the deal and the release of the remaining hostages, mostly Israeli soldiers and civilian men.
Thomas Helm in Jerusalem and Jihan Abdalla in Washington contributed to this report
