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Progress Made in Israel-Hamas Ceasefire01/13 06:06
U.S. and Arab mediators made significant progress overnight toward brokering
a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war and the release of scores of hostages held
in the Gaza Strip, but a deal hasn't been reached yet, officials said Monday.
CAIRO (AP) -- U.S. and Arab mediators made significant progress overnight
toward brokering a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war and the release of scores
of hostages held in the Gaza Strip, but a deal hasn't been reached yet,
officials said Monday.
Three officials acknowledged that progress has been made and said the coming
days would be critical for ending more than 15 months of fighting that has
destabilized the Middle East. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they
weren't authorized to discuss the talks.
One of the three officials and a Hamas official said that there were still a
number of hurdles to clear. On several occasions over the past year, U.S.
officials have said that they were on the verge of reaching a deal, only to
have the talks stall.
One person familiar with the talks said there had been a breakthrough
overnight and that there was a proposed deal on the table. Israeli and Hamas
negotiators will now take it back to their leaders for final approval, the
person said.
The person said that mediators from the Gulf country of Qatar had put
renewed pressure on Hamas to accept the agreement, while U.S. President-elect
Donald Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, was pressing the Israelis. Witkoff
recently joined the negotiations and has been in the region in recent days.
The person said that the mediators had handed off the draft deal to each
side and that the next 24 hours would be pivotal.
An Egyptian official said that there had been good progress overnight, but
that it would likely take a few more days, and that the sides were aiming for a
deal before Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20. A third official said that the
talks were in a good place, but hadn't been wrapped up. That official also
assessed that a deal was possible before the inauguration.
Asked about the talks at a press conference, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon
Saar said "progress has been made, and I hope that within a short time we will
see things happening. But it is still to be proved."
A Hamas official said a number of contentious issues still need to be
resolved, including an Israeli commitment to ending the war and details about
the withdrawal of Israeli troops and the hostage-prisoner exchange. The
official wasn't authorized to brief media and spoke anonymously.
The Egyptian official confirmed that those issues were still being discussed.
Months of negotiations have repeatedly stalled
The Biden administration, along with Egypt and Qatar, has spent more than a
year trying to broker an agreement to end the deadliest war ever fought between
Israelis and Palestinians and secure the release of scores of hostages captured
in Hamas' attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which triggered the
conflict.
But the sides have been divided over the details of the planned exchange of
hostages for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, as well as the nature of the
ceasefire itself. Hamas has said that it won't release the remaining captives
without an end to the war, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has
vowed to continue the campaign until "total victory" over the militant group.
Under discussion now is a phased ceasefire. Netanyahu has repeatedly
signaled that he is committed only to the first phase, a partial hostage
release in exchange for a weekslong halt in fighting. The possibility of a
lasting ceasefire and other issues would be negotiated after the first phase
begins. Hamas has demanded a full withdrawal and complete end to the war, and
is hoping that this first phase will lead to that outcome.
A deal could weaken Netanyahu's coalition, which includes two far-right
factions that have threatened to leave the government if Israel makes too many
concessions. Members of the opposition have promised to give Netanyahu the
support that he needs to approve a hostage release, but the hardliners' anger
could be a source of instability down the road.
Netanyahu is hoping that the prospect of a Trump administration -- which
includes allies of the West Bank settler movement -- will persuade his partners
to remain in the government.
U.S. President Joe Biden, who hopes to wrap up a deal before leaving office
next week, spoke with Netanyahu about the talks on Sunday.
The head of Israel's Mossad foreign intelligence agency, David Barnea, and
Biden's top Middle East adviser, Brett McGurk, were both in the Qatari capital,
Doha. Barnea's presence meant high-level Israeli officials who would need to
sign off on any agreement are once again involved in the talks.
McGurk has been working on final details of a text to be presented to both
sides, Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told CNN's "State of
the Union." But he said that he would not predict whether a deal can be reached
by Jan. 20.
"We are very, very close," he said. "Yet being very close still means we're
far, because until you actually get across the finish line, we're not there."
Palestinians and families of the hostages hope for a deal
Just one brief ceasefire has been achieved during the war, and that was in
the earliest weeks of fighting. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said
last week that a deal is "very close" and he hoped to complete it before
handing over diplomacy to the incoming Trump administration.
Israel's campaign in Gaza has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, the
majority women and children, according to the territory's Health Ministry,
whose count doesn't give a breakdown between fighters and civilians. Hamas-led
militants killed about 1,200 people and abducted around 250 others in the
attack that ignited the war.
Families of the roughly 100 hostages still held in Gaza are pressing
Netanyahu to reach a deal to bring their loved ones home. Israelis rallied
again Saturday night in Tel Aviv, with photos of hostages on display.
In Gaza, Palestinians were tempering their hopes for a stop to Israel's
campaign, which has devastated much of the territory and driven around 90% of
its 2.3 million people from their homes.
"We hear that there are negotiations every day, but we see nothing," said
Mazen Hammad, a resident of the southern city of Khan Younis. "When we see it
on the ground, then we believe that there is a truce."
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