dpa
Tel Aviv/Cairo
There was cautious optimism on Monday that a deal could be forthcoming on a ceasefire in the Gaza war and the release of hostages as both Israel and Palestinian group Hamas reported significant progress.
Negotiations for a deal to halt the 15-month-old conflict had stalled for months and only recently saw new impetus amid the imminent inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump on January 20.
Hopes of a final agreement in the tough negotiations mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the US have been repeatedly dashed in the past.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said at a meeting in Jerusalem with his Danish counterpart Lars Løkke Rasmussen that he had informed him of progress in the indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas in Qatar.
“Israel wants the release of the hostages very much and is working hard to get a deal,” Saar said, according to his office. “We will soon know if the other side also wants a deal. We hope to see progress in the near future.”
The indirect negotiations involve the release of Palestinian prisoners in return for hostages held by Hamas, as well as the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip.
A Hamas statement said that “great progress” had been made in the talks, with efforts under way to quickly conclude the negotiations.
The main hurdles have been overcome and an agreement is expected before Trump takes office, it said.
Hamas said earlier on Monday it was preparing for the possible release of Palestinian prisoners in light of the latest reports. “We renew our promise to our steadfast, patient people and to our heroic prisoners in the jails and affirm that their freedom will soon be achieved,” Hamas said on Monday.
Hamas released 105 hostages during a temporary ceasefire at the end of November 2023. In return, Israel released 240 Palestinian prisoners from its jails.
Israeli media reports suggest negotiators in Doha have coalesced around a three-stage plan. The Israeli TV channel N12 reported that a response from Hamas is being awaited, while Hamas sources said the group was awaiting agreement from Israel.
The potential agreement is broadly based on a ceasefire plan that outgoing US President Joe Biden presented in May of last year.
Israel media report that in a first phase, more than 30 “humanitarian cases” among the hostages would be released, followed later by young men and soldiers in a second stage.
The third phase would see the reconstruction of the largely destroyed Gaza Strip and an alternative government for the coastal territory.
The Israeli military laid much of Gaza to ruins following the Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which some 1,200 people were killed and 250 abducted to the sealed-off coastal territory.
Some 98 hostages are still held in Gaza though about one third of them are believed to be dead. Some 46,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began, according to Palestinian estimates.
