Gaza ceasefire deal appears close as US and Egyptian leaders put focus on ‘coming hours’

A Gaza ceasefire deal appears close as negotiators continue to hammer out the final details after marathon talks in Qatar.

US and Egyptian leaders promised to stay in close contact about a deal in the coming hours.

There have been previous moments of optimism that a deal is close, but all sides have indicated that negotiations are in their final stages now.

It comes just days before president-elect Donald Trump takes office, and amid an apparent growing gulf between Hamas, in Gaza, and the Palestinian Authority, in the West Bank.

More than eight hours of talks in Doha fuelled growing optimism as officials from mediator countries as well as Israel and Hamas said an agreement was closer than ever.

However, it has not yet been brought over the line.

Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson Majed al Ansari told a news conference that both sides had been presented with a text and that talks regarding the final few details were under way.

The war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas has claimed almost 47,000 lives in the enclave.

It began after Hamas and other militant groups launched an attack into southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing more than 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages, and has triggered further conflicts in the region.

President Joe Biden’s outgoing administration has taken part in talks, alongside an envoy from Mr Trump’s incoming team.

Mr Biden and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al Sisi talked about the progress of negotiations in a statement issued by the White House, saying: “Both leaders committed to remain in close coordination directly and through their teams over the coming hours.”

They both “emphasised the urgent need for a deal to be implemented”.

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Deal might be close, but there are many unanswered questions

‘We are close, we are not there yet’

Both Hamas and an Israeli official said talks had reached a critical juncture.

The Israeli official said that some details still needed to be worked out, adding: “We are close, we are not there yet.”

Militant group Islamic Jihad, which is separate from Hamas and also holds hostages in Gaza, said it was sending a senior delegation to Doha this week, to take part in the final arrangements for a ceasefire deal.

If successful, the phased ceasefire would bring to an end fighting that has decimated Gaza – and cap more than a year of stop-and-start talks.

There are hopes it could, in turn, ease tensions across the wider Middle East where the war has fuelled conflict in the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq and raised the spectre of all-out war between Israel and Iran.

The deal would also see Israel recover about 100 remaining hostages and bodies from those captured on 7 October.

Most of the enclave’s population has been made homeless.

While Palestinians may eagerly await a deal, Israel’s attacks have continued all across the enclave, claiming dozens of lives and injuring more.