Gaza ceasefire deal being finalised, Palestinian official tells BBC

According to a Palestinian official familiar with the negotiations, who spoke to the BBC, the terms of an agreement between Israel and Hamas regarding a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages are being finalized. This news comes as US President Joe Biden stated that an agreement is "close" and his administration is urgently working on it.

An Israeli official also told Reuters that negotiations have reached an "advanced stage" and that an agreement could be reached in "hours, days, or longer." The Palestinian official told the BBC that Hamas and Israeli officials held indirect talks in the same building on Monday. The official revealed that some potential details of the agreement involved "detailed technical discussions which took a considerable amount of time."

Both sides have agreed that Hamas will release three hostages on the first day the agreement goes into effect, after which Israel will begin withdrawing troops from densely populated areas. Seven days later, Hamas will release four more hostages, and Israel will allow displaced people in the south to return to the north, but only on foot via the coastal road. Cars, animal-drawn vehicles, and trucks will be allowed through a crossing near Salah al-Din Road, which will be monitored by X-ray machines operated by a Qatari-Egyptian technical security team.

The agreement includes provisions for Israeli forces to remain in the Philadelphi Corridor during the first phase (lasting 42 days) and to maintain an 800-meter buffer zone on the eastern and northern borders. Israel has also agreed to release 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, including approximately 190 who have served 15 years or more. In exchange, Hamas will release 34 hostages. Negotiations for the second and third phases of the ceasefire agreement will begin on the 16th day of the truce.

The father of an Israeli-American hostage told BBC's Newshour that he "wants to believe" that Israel has "reached an 'agreement'" on a deal. Jonathan Decker-Chen said he "lives in fear" every day because he worries about his son, Sagui. As reports of an imminent agreement increase, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said a deal could be reached "this week" – the last week of President Biden’s term. He also added that Biden would be speaking to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

President-elect Donald Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, also attended the meetings in Doha. Trump had previously threatened that "everything will go out of control" if the hostages were not released before he took office on January 20th. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar told reporters that progress had been made in the negotiations and that the deal looked "much better than before." But the latest developments come as Netanyahu faces strong opposition from within his governing coalition to a potential deal. Ten right-wing members, including some from Netanyahu’s own Likud party, have sent him a letter opposing a ceasefire.

While talks were ongoing, the Gaza Civil Defense agency reported that Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City on Monday killed more than 50 people. Civil defense spokesman Mahmoud Bassal told AFP, "They bombed schools, houses, and even gatherings of people." The Israeli military stated it was investigating the reports. Separately, five soldiers were reported killed in northern Gaza on Monday. The war was triggered by an attack by Hamas on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed approximately 1,200 people and saw 251 others taken to Gaza as hostages.

Israel subsequently launched a military offensive in Gaza to destroy Hamas. The Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza says that more than 46,500 people have been killed during the war. Israel says 94 hostages remain in Gaza, 34 of whom are presumed dead, and another four Israelis were kidnapped before the war, two of whom have died.