Zürcher Nachrichten - Qatar says Gaza truce talks in 'final stages'

Qatar, Egypt and the United States have stepped up efforts to broker a ceasefire to enable the release of hostages held in Gaza since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

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 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.

Hamas's October 7 attack, the deadliest in Israel's history, resulted in the deaths of 1,210 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.

On that day, militants also took 251 people hostage, 94 of whom are still being held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

Israel's retaliatory campaign in Gaza has killed 46,645 people, a majority of them civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run 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".

- 'Make it happen' -

Sources close to the talks and Israeli media said the first phase of a deal would see 33 Israeli hostages released, while two Palestinian sources close to Hamas told AFP that Israel would release about 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange.

An Israeli government official said that "several hundred terrorists 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.

On Monday, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said a truce deal could be finalised this week.

"I'm not making a promise or prediction, but it is there for the taking and we are going to work to make it happen," he said.

Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, however, 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.

- 'Harsh and bloody' -

His comments came amid rising calls by Israelis, particularly families of hostages held in Gaza, to reach an accord that would bring their loved ones home.

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.

Netanyahu has firmly rejected a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and has opposed any Palestinian governance of the territory.

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.

"Last night was harsh and bloody," spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.

The Israeli military said it targeted Hamas militants.

"Overnight, with the direction of IDF (army) intelligence, the IAF (air force) conducted several strikes on Hamas terrorists who were involved in terror activities," it told AFP.

The health ministry in Gaza said 61 people were killed in the Palestinian territory over the past 24 hours.

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D.Smith--NZN