Gaza ceasefire deal: Qatar hands Israel, Hamas final draft

Mediators yesterday gave Israel and Hamas a final draft of a deal to end the Israeli offensive in Gaza, an official briefed on the negotiations said, after a midnight “breakthrough” in talks attended by envoys of both Joe Biden and Donald Trump.

The official said the text for a ceasefire and release of hostages was presented by Qatar to both sides at talks in Doha, which included the chiefs of Israel’s Mossad and Shin Bet spy agencies and Qatar’s prime minister.

The official said Steve Witkoff, who will become US envoy when Trump returns to the US presidency next week, attended the talks. A US source said the outgoing Biden administration’s envoy Brett McGurk was also there.

“The next 24 hours will be pivotal to reaching the deal,” the official said, characterising the draft as the outcome of a breakthrough reached in the early hours of yesterday.

Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich warned that he would not support a deal in Gaza that halts the offensive, insisting that Israel should “open all the gates of hell” on the Palestinian territory.

Hamas said that talks over some core issues for a ceasefire deal have made progress, an official in the Palestinian group told Reuters.

Israel’s Kan radio, citing an Israeli official, reported yesterday that Israeli and Hamas delegations in Qatar had received a draft and that the Israeli delegation had briefed Israel’s leaders.

Officials on both sides, while stopping short of confirming that a final draft had been reached, described progress at the talks.

As the Israeli strikes continue in the Palestinian enclave, the health ministry in Gaza yesterday said 19 people were killed in the territory in the past 24 hours, taking the overall death toll to 46,584.

A senior Israeli official said a deal could be sealed within a few days if Hamas replies to a proposal. A Palestinian official close to the talks said information from Doha was “very promising”, adding: “Gaps were being narrowed and there is a big push toward an agreement if all goes well to the end.”

Biden also spoke on Sunday by phone with Netanyahu, stressing “the immediate need for a ceasefire in Gaza and return of the hostages with a surge in humanitarian aid enabled by a stoppage in the fighting under the deal,” the White House said.

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