A draft agreement for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of dozens of hostages held by Hamas has been accepted, according to officials involved in the talks. Negotiations, mediated by Qatar, are at a critical point, with progress reported by both Israeli and Hamas officials. The proposed agreement, which still requires Israeli Cabinet approval, outlines a three-phase process for ending the 15-month war and securing the release of all remaining hostages.
Demonstrators hold signs and flares during a protest calling for the immediate release of the hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Monday, Jan. 13, 2025.
Officials have expressed mounting optimism that they can conclude an agreement ahead of the Jan. 20 inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, whose Mideast envoy has joined the negotiations. Among the 33 would be five female Israeli soldiers, each of whom would be released in exchange for 50 Palestinian prisoners, including 30 convicted militants who are serving life sentences. By the end of the first phase, all civilian captives — living or dead — will have been released.
The deal would allow Israel throughout the first phase to remain in control of the Philadelphi Corridor, the band of territory along Gaza's border with Egypt, which Hamas had initially demanded Israel withdraw from. But Israel would pull out from the Netzarim Corridor, a belt across central Gaza where it had sought a mechanism for searching Palestinians for arms when they return to the territory's north.
Hamas has blamed Israel for the repeated setbacks in the negotiations, saying that on more than one occasion, the militant group had accepted a proposal from mediators only to see Israel reject it or launch a new military operation immediately afterwards.Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 attack and abducted another 250. Around half those hostages were freed during a brief ceasefire in November 2023.
GAZA HAMAS CEASEFIRE HOSTAGES ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT
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