A midnight “breakthrough” in talks at brokering a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has been made in Doha, mediators said, after Joe Biden announced a deal was “on the brink” of being sealed.
“The deal … would free the hostages, halt the fighting, provide security to Israel and allow us to significantly surge humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians who suffered terribly in this war that Hamas started,” Biden said in a speech on Monday to highlight his foreign policy achievements.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the sides were “closer than we’ve ever been” to a deal, and the ball was in Hamas’ court.
“We are very hopeful that we get it over the finish line, finally after all this time,” he told MSNBC, adding that the proposed deal was based on a framework Biden put out in May.
Negotiators will meet in Doha on Tuesday after they gave Israel and Hamas a final draft of an agreement on Monday, an official briefed on the negotiations said.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar told reporters: “There is progress, it looks much better than previously. I want to thank our American friends for the huge efforts they are investing to secure a hostage deal.”
“The negotiation over some core issues made progress and we are working to conclude what remains soon,” a Hamas official said.
President Joe Biden delivered his final speech about foreign policy on Monday (Photo: Susan Walsh/AP)A Palestinian official told the BBC the terms of a deal are being finalised, while an Israeli official told the Reuters news agency that negotiations were in advanced stages for the release of up to 33 hostages.
A US official close to negotiations told the Associated Press all sides are “closer than we’ve ever been, but it could still fall apart.”
An Egyptian official also said there had been good progress, but it would likely take a few more days and the sides were aiming for a deal before Donald Trump’s inauguration on 20 January.
Trump has said he believed a hostage and ceasefire deal could be completed by the end of the week.
“And I understand it’s, it’s been – there’s been a handshake and they’re getting it finished,” Mr Trump said in a Newsmax interview. “But it has to take place.”
The president-elect last week warned that “all hell” would be unleashed on Hamas if a deal is not reached before his inauguration on 20 January.
He reiterated his warning saying if a deal was not done: “There’s going to be a lot of trouble out there, a lot of trouble like they have never seen before.”
If successful, the ceasefire deal would cap over a year of start-and-stop talks and lead to the biggest release of Israeli hostages since the early days of the conflict, when Hamas freed about half of its prisoners in exchange for 240 Palestinian detainees held by Israel.
With agencies
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