New rounds of talks have been taking place in Doha this month in hopes of reaching a deal before the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on January 20.
Negotiators in Qatar are working on the “final details” of a potential Gaza ceasefire deal, as several reports indicate that a “final round” of indirect talks between Hamas and Israel is currently taking place in the Gulf state.
“The talks that are ongoing now are on the final details of reaching an agreement,” Majed Al-Ansari, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, told a weekly press briefing in Doha on Tuesday.
Al-Ansari, who is also the adviser to Qatar’s prime minister, told the press at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Doha that the talks are “at a final stage”.
He noted that “there will be no announcement” before a deal is reached, but confirmed that Qatar sent Hamas and Israel a draft of the ceasefire proposal.
“Therefore we shouldn’t be overexcited about what’s happening right now, but certainly we are hopeful,” he explained.
Al-Ansari said that the main points of contention that had stood in the way of reaching a deal have been resolved.
“These issues were resolved during the talks in the past couple of weeks, and therefore we have reached a point where the major issues that were preventing a deal from happening were addressed,” Al-Ansari said.
Earlier, a source told AFP that a “final round” of the Gaza ceasefire negotiations is taking place in Qatar on Tuesday.
New rounds of talks have been taking place in Doha this month in the hopes of reaching a deal before the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on January 20.
Some of the officials at the talks include Trump’s incoming Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, and outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden’s Middle East envoy, Brett McGurk.
Israel is represented by several officials, including of the head of the Mossad intelligence agency, David Barnea, and the director of the Shin Bet internal security agency, Ronen Bar.
Meanwhile, on Monday evening, Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani met separately with Hamas’s delegation as well as the incoming and outgoing U.S. Middle East envoys at the Lusail Palace.
Both meetings focused on the latest developments in the Gaza ceasefire negotiations.
A phone call then took place between Sheikh Tamim and Biden, where they discussed joint mediation efforts to end Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip.
“Both leaders emphasised the urgent need for a deal to be implemented to return the hostages to their families 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,” the White House said.
Deal on the table
The current deal on the table is reportedly split into three phases, each lasting 42 days.
The first phase involves Israel’s withdrawal from populated areas as well as the Netzarim Corridor, which bisects the Gaza Strip, while enabling the return of internally displaced Palestinians.
Israel would also allow the unhindered entry of 600 daily aid trucks, including 50 containing fuel, and the repair of the Gaza Strip’s basic infrastructure. The first phase also stipulates the re-opening of the Rafah Crossing for wounded Palestinians to receive treatment.
Hamas would release 33 captives during the same phase, including: women soldiers and civilians, children aged below 19, those aged above 50, and wounded or sick non-combatants.
Israel would release 30 Palestinian prisoners that are ill and aged over 50 for every elderly living Israeli captive. A total of 50 prisoners, including 30 serving life sentences, would also be released for every Israeli female soldier released.
The indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel would then resume by 16th day for the next phase of the deal.
Talks and relief efforts would continue in the second phase, also when a total ceasefire is agreed upon before beginning the next round of the captives-prisoners exchange.
The third phase would entail beginning the Gaza Strip’s three to five-year reconstruction plan.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel has carried out a genocide in the Gaza Strip where it has killed at least 46,645 Palestinians, according to figures by Palestine’s authorities. The figure is an undercount of the actual death toll with thousands still trapped under the rubble.
