Gaza ceasefire deal being finalized, Palestinian official tells BBC

The terms of an agreement between Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages are being finalized, a Palestinian official familiar with the negotiations told the BBC.

It comes as US President Joe Biden said a deal was “close” to happening and his administration was working urgently on the issue.

An Israeli official also told the Reuters news agency that negotiations were at an “advanced stage”, with a deal possible in “hours, days or more”.

US President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sundayand with Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani of Qatar – who is mediating the negotiations – on Monday.

The Palestinian official told the BBC that Hamas and Israeli officials were holding indirect talks in the same building on Monday.

Revealing some potential details of the deal, the official said “detailed technical discussions took considerable time.”

Both sides agreed that Hamas would release three hostages on the first day of the deal, after which Israel would begin withdrawing its troops from populated areas.

Seven days later, Hamas would release four more hostages and Israel would allow displaced people from the south to return to the north, but only on foot via the coastal road.

Cars, animal-drawn carts and trucks would be allowed to pass through a crossing adjacent to the Salah al-Din road, monitored by an X-ray machine operated by a Qatari-Egyptian technical security team.

The agreement includes provisions allowing Israeli forces to remain in the territory. Philadelphia Corridor and maintain an 800-meter buffer zone along the eastern and northern borders during the first phase, which will last 42 days.

Israel also agreed to release 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, around 190 of whom are serving sentences of 15 years or more. In exchange, Hamas will release 34 hostages.

Negotiations for the second and third phases of the agreement would begin on the 16th day of the ceasefire.

The father of an Israeli-American hostage told BBC News Hour that he “wants to believe” that Israel has “reached “yes”” to an agreement.

Jonathan Dekel-Chen said he “lives in terror” every day because of his fears for his son Sagui.

With growing reports that a deal was close, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said a deal could be reached “this week” — the final week of Trump’s presidency. Biden.

Biden was expected to speak with Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, he added.

President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, was also in Doha.

Trump had already threatened “Hell” would break loose if the hostages were not freed before taking office on January 20.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar told reporters that progress had been made and the deal looked “much better than before.”

But The latest developments come as Netanyahu faces fierce opposition to a possible deal within his governing coalition.

Ten right-wingers, including some from Netanyahu’s Likud party, sent him a letter opposing a truce.

As the negotiations took place, Gaza’s civil defense agency reported that a wave of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City on Monday killed more than 50 people.

“They bombed schools, houses and even gatherings of people,” civil defense spokesperson Mahmud Bassal told AFP.

The Israeli military said it was studying the information. In addition, five soldiers were killed on Monday in the northern Gaza Strip.

The war was sparked by the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which around 1,200 people were killed and 251 others taken to Gaza as hostages.

Israel launched a military offensive in Gaza to destroy Hamas in response.

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry says more than 46,500 people have been killed during the war.

Israel says 94 of the hostages remain in Gaza, 34 of whom are presumed dead, along with four other Israelis who were kidnapped before the war, two of whom are dead.