By SAMY MAGDY and WAFAA SHURAFA, Related Press
CAIRO (AP) — Hamas has accepted a draft settlement for a ceasefire within the Gaza Strip and the discharge of dozens of hostages, two officers concerned within the talks mentioned Tuesday. Mediator Qatar mentioned the negotiations had been on the “closest point” but to sealing a deal.
The Related Press obtained a replica of the proposed settlement, and an Egyptian official and a Hamas official confirmed its authenticity. An Israeli official mentioned progress has been made, however the particulars are being finalized. The plan would should be submitted to the Israeli Cupboard for ultimate approval.
All three officers spoke on situation of anonymity to debate the closed-door talks.
America, Egypt and Qatar have spent the previous 12 months attempting to mediate an finish the 15-month warfare and safe the discharge dozens of hostages captured in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist assault that triggered it. Some 100 Israelis are nonetheless captive inside Gaza, and the army believes at the least a 3rd them are useless.
Demonstrators maintain torches throughout a protest calling for the quick launch of the hostages held within the Gaza Strip by Hamas in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. (AP Picture/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Hamas has been designated as a terrorist group by the USA, Canada and the European Union.
Officers have expressed mounting optimism that they’ll conclude an settlement forward of the Jan. 20 inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, whose Mideast envoy has joined the negotiations.
Qatari Overseas Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari mentioned at a weekly briefing Tuesday that the continuing negotiations are optimistic and productive, whereas declining to get into the main points of the delicate talks.
“Today, we are at the closest point ever to having a deal,” he mentioned.
Hamas, in the meantime, mentioned in a press release that the continuing negotiations had reached their “final stage.”
The offensive has diminished massive areas of the territory to rubble and displaced round 90% of Gaza’s inhabitants of two.3 million, with lots of of 1000’s packed into tent camps alongside the coast the place starvation is widespread.
Israeli strikes throughout Gaza in a single day and into Tuesday killed at the least 18 Palestinians, together with two ladies and 4 youngsters, whereas Yemen’s Houthi rebels fired two missiles at Israel, setting off sirens and sending individuals racing into shelters. Nobody was wounded by the projectiles.
A 3-phase settlement
The three-phase settlement — primarily based on a framework laid out by U.S. President Joe Biden and endorsed by the U.N. Safety Council — would start with the gradual launch of 33 hostages over a six-week interval, together with ladies, youngsters, older adults and wounded civilians in trade for probably lots of of Palestinian ladies and youngsters imprisoned by Israel.
Among the many 33 could be 5 feminine Israeli troopers, every of whom could be launched in trade for 50 Palestinian prisoners, together with 30 convicted who’re serving life sentences. By the tip of the primary section, all civilian captives — residing or useless — can have been launched.
Throughout this primary, 42-day section, Israeli forces would withdraw from inhabitants facilities, Palestinians could be allowed to start out returning to their houses in northern Gaza and there could be a surge of humanitarian help, with some 600 vehicles coming into every day.
Particulars of the second section nonetheless should be negotiated in the course of the first. These particulars stay troublesome to resolve — and the deal doesn’t embody written ensures that the ceasefire will proceed till a deal is reached. That leaves the potential for Israel to renew its army marketing campaign after the primary section ends.
The three mediators, nonetheless, have given Hamas verbal ensures that negotiations will proceed as deliberate and that they’ll press for a deal to implement the second and third phases earlier than the tip of the primary, the Egyptian official mentioned.
The deal would enable Israel all through the primary section to stay accountable for the Philadelphi Hall, the band of territory alongside Gaza’s border with Egypt, which Hamas had initially demanded Israel withdraw from. However Israel would pull out from the Netzarim Hall, a belt throughout central Gaza the place it had sought a mechanism for looking out Palestinians for arms once they return to the territory’s north.
Within the second section, Hamas would launch the remaining residing captives, primarily male troopers, in trade for extra prisoners and the “complete withdrawal” of Israeli forces from Gaza, in keeping with the draft settlement. However Hamas has mentioned it is not going to free the remaining hostages with out an finish to the warfare and an entire Israeli withdrawal, whereas Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has prior to now vowed to renew combating except Hamas’s army and governing capabilities are eradicated.
Except another authorities for Gaza is labored out in these talks, it might go away Hamas in control of the territory.
In a 3rd section, the our bodies of remaining hostages could be returned in trade for a three- to five-year reconstruction plan to be carried out in Gaza beneath worldwide supervision.
Rising strain forward of Trump’s inauguration
Israel and Hamas have come beneath renewed strain to halt the battle within the lead-up to Trump’s inauguration subsequent week. His Center East envoy, Steve Witkoff, lately joined U.S., Egyptian and Qatari mediators within the Gulf nation’s capital, Doha.
Trump mentioned late Monday {that a} ceasefire was “very close.”
Hamas has blamed Israel for the repeated setbacks within the negotiations, saying that on multiple event, that they had accepted a proposal from mediators solely to see Israel reject it or launch a brand new army operation instantly afterwards.
Israel and its shut ally the USA have blamed setbacks on Hamas.
Palestinians carry the physique of a relative killed within the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir Al-Balah, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP Picture/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Hamas-led terrorists killed round 1,200 individuals, largely civilians, within the Oct. 7 assault and kidnapped one other 250. Round half these hostages had been freed throughout a quick ceasefire in November 2023.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed over 46,000 Palestinians, greater than half of them ladies and youngsters, in keeping with Gaza’s Well being Ministry, which doesn’t say how most of the useless had been combatants.
Strikes in Gaza proceed
Two strikes within the central Gaza metropolis of Deir al-Balah in a single day and into Tuesday killed two ladies and their 4 youngsters, who ranged in age from 1 month to 9 years outdated. One of many ladies was pregnant and the child didn’t survive, in keeping with Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, which obtained the our bodies.
One other 12 individuals had been killed in two strikes on the southern metropolis of Khan Younis, in keeping with the European Hospital.
There was no quick remark from the Israeli army. Israel says it solely targets militants and accuses them of hiding amongst civilians in shelters and tent camps for the displaced.
Yemeni rebels hearth missiles at Israel
The warfare has rippled throughout the area, igniting over a 12 months of combating between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militants that ended with a tense ceasefire in November. Israel has additionally traded direct hearth with Iran, which backs Hamas, Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthis.
The Israeli army mentioned it made a number of makes an attempt to intercept the missile launched from Yemen early Tuesday and that “the missile was likely intercepted.” It mentioned an earlier missile fired from Yemen was additionally intercepted.
Police mentioned a number of houses had been broken exterior Jerusalem and launched a photograph of a missile casing that had crashed right into a roof.
The Houthis, who captured Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, and far of the nation’s north in 2014, have launched a sequence of missile and drone assaults on Israel and have attacked worldwide delivery within the Crimson Sea. The Houthis say they’re combating in solidarity with the Palestinians, however the overwhelming majority of the focused ships don’t have any connection to the battle.
Shurafa reported from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip. Related Press writers Josef Federman in Jerusalem and Natalie Melzer in Nahariya, Israel, contributed to this report.
