Gaza ceasefire still elusive as negotiators try to hammer out deal

Negotiators were trying to hammer out the final details of a complex, phased ceasefire in Gaza on Wednesday after marathon talks in Qatar, and US and Egyptian leaders promised to stay in close contact about a deal over the coming hours. 

More than eight hours of talks in Doha had fuelled optimism. 

Officials from mediators Qatar, Egypt and the US as well as Israel and Hamas said on Tuesday that an agreement for a truce in the besieged Palestinian enclave and the release of hostages was closer than ever. 

But a senior Hamas official told Reuters late on Tuesday that the Palestinian group had not yet delivered its response because it was still waiting for Israel to submit maps showing how its forces would withdraw from Gaza. 

White House National Security adviser Jake Sullivan said the US was hopeful that a deal will be reached this week. 

President-elect Donald Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration is now widely seen as a de facto deadline for a ceasefire agreement. 

During months of on-off talks to achieve a truce in the devastating 15-month-old war both sides have previously said they were close to a ceasefire only to hit last-minute obstacles. The broad outlines of the current deal have been in place since mid-2024. 

If successful, the planned phased ceasefire could halt fighting that has decimated Gaza, killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, made most of the enclave's population homeless and is still killing dozens a day. 

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

Israel would recover around 100 remaining hostages and bodies from among those captured in the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas that precipitated the war. In return it would free Palestinian detainees. 

The latest draft deal is complicated and sensitive. Under its terms the first steps would feature a six-week initial ceasefire. 

The plan also includes a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from central Gaza and the return of displaced Palestinians to north Gaza. 

The deal would also require Hamas to release 33 Israeli hostages along with other steps. 

The draft stipulates negotiations over a second phase of the agreement to begin by the 16th day of phase one. Phase two includes the release of all remaining hostages, a permanent ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of Israeli soldiers. 

Even if the warring sides agree to the deal on the table, that agreement still needs further negotiation before there is a final ceasefire and the release of all the hostages If it all goes smoothly, the Palestinians, Arab states and Israel still need to agree on a vision for post-war Gaza, a massive task involving security guarantees for Israel and billions of dollars in investment for rebuilding. 

Talks on final details  Qatar's foreign ministry spokesperson, Majed Al-Ansari, said on Tuesday that both sides were presented with a text and talks on the last details were under way. 

US President Joe Biden, whose administration has been taking part alongside a Trump envoy, said a deal was close.

Biden and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi talked about progress on Tuesday. 

"Both leaders committed to remain in close coordination directly and through their teams over the coming hours," the White House said in a statement, adding the two "emphasized the urgent need for a deal to be implemented". 

Hamas said the talks had reached the final steps and it hoped this round of negotiations would lead to a deal. 

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Tuesday he believed a majority of Israel's coalition government would support a Gaza deal if one is finally agreed, despite vocal opposition from hardline nationalist parties in the coalition. 

Israeli attacks 

Despite the efforts to reach a ceasefire, the Israeli military, the Shin Bet internal intelligence agency and the air force attacked about 50 targets throughout Gaza over the last 24 hours, Shin Bet and the military said in a statement on Wednesday. 

The United Nations said it was preparing to expand humanitarian assistance to Gaza under a potential ceasefire, but there was still uncertainty around border access and security. 

Families of hostages in Israel were caught between hope and despair. 

"We can't miss this moment. This is the last moment; we can save them," said Hadas Calderon, whose husband Ofer and children Sahar and Erez were abducted. 

Israel launched its assault in Gaza after Hamas-led fighters stormed across its borders on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. 

Since then, Israeli forces have killed more than 46,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials. 

Previous ceasefire efforts have stalled on a fundamental disagreement: Hamas rejected any deal that stopped short of bringing a permanent end to the war, while Israel said it would not end the conflict until Hamas is dismantled.  (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)