Israel-Gaza Ceasefire Talks and Hostage Release Negotiations Gaining Momentum

High-level ceasefire talks appeared to gain momentum on Monday as Arab and American mediators pushed for an agreement to stop fighting in Gaza and release hostages held by Hamas before newly elected President Donald J Trump takes office on January 20.

It was still unclear whether the sides had reached a resolution on all central disputes that had proven insurmountable in previous rounds of negotiations, but officials expressed optimism that a deal was achievable.

On Monday, President Biden suggested that an agreement between Israel and Hamas was imminent. “As far as the war between Israel and Hamas is concerned, we are on the eve of a proposal that I worked out in detail months ago and that will finally become reality,” he said in a foreign policy speech.

Jake Sullivan, the US national security adviser, said there was “a distinct possibility” that Hamas and Israel could reach an agreement this week.

“The question now is: can we all collectively seize the moment and make this happen,” he told Bloomberg in an interview.

A Hamas official said in a text message that progress had been made on all issues and that an agreement in the next two days was possible as long as Israel changed its position at the last minute.

Earlier on Monday, an Arab diplomat said “real progress” was being made in the talks, and two Israeli officials said a draft deal was pending Hamas’ approval, with the next 24 hours seen as crucial.

Other Israeli officials said the optimal conditions for an agreement had been created, making a breakthrough possible. These officials said the emerging deal would allow Israel to maintain a buffer zone in Gaza during its implementation and that Israeli forces would not leave the area until all hostages are released.

They also said it would allow displaced Palestinians in southern Gaza to return to the north while enforcing unspecified “security measures.”

The Hamas official, the diplomat and the Israeli officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy.

For months, repeated rounds of talks raised hopes, but they were dashed days later, with Israel and Hamas blaming each other for the standoff.

If an agreement is reached, it would provide some respite to the Palestinians in Gaza, who have endured appalling conditions in displaced persons camps and brutal bombardments by Israel, and to the families of hostages taken from Israel, who have suffered for months under the demand about the fate of their country. lovers.

• Hamas leaders want an end to the Israeli onslaught, which has severely weakened the group’s armed wing and government, uprooted nearly two million people and left cities in ruins. Hamas officials have also said they seek a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the return of displaced persons in the south of the northern enclave, access of reconstruction materials and freedom for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. On Monday, Hamas said in a statement that Palestinian prisoners would be released soon.

• The sides have long discussed a three-phase deal in what Arab and American officials hope will result in an end to the war. But Israeli officials said on Monday that the deal could consist of only two phases, with negotiations on the details of the second phase starting on the 16th day of the first phase.

What are the biggest obstacles?

• A major hurdle to the success of the talks was the sustainability of a ceasefire. While Hamas has demanded a comprehensive end to the war, Mr Netanyahu has said he wants a “partial” deal that would allow Israel to resume the war after freeing hostages.

• Israel demands vague language in the text of any agreement that leaves room for a resumption of fighting at some point. This is what a Palestinian familiar with the case and two Israeli officials say. Mr Netanyahu fears his right-wing coalition partners could topple his government and jeopardize his political future if he agrees to a deal ending the war, analysts say.

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• Hamas has not suggested it would be willing to compromise on its demand to end the war. Osama Hamdan, a senior Hamas official, told a meeting in Algeria last week that there must be “an absolute end to the aggression.”

• Another hurdle was how far into Gaza Israel would be allowed to carry out military operations in the first phase of an agreement. Israel had wanted the ability to maneuver up to 1.5 kilometers (about a mile) into the enclave, said the two Israeli officials and the Palestinian familiar with the matter. According to the Palestinian, Hamas had wanted all raids to be limited to 500 meters from the border.

• However, Israeli officials have now said that the new agreement would allow Israel to maintain a buffer zone in Gaza during its implementation and that Israeli forces would not leave the area until all hostages are released.

• Israel has demanded a list of hostages from Hamas that are still alive. Without that, Israeli officials say, there can be no agreement on how many Palestinian prisoners Israel would be willing to release in return. As of Sunday morning, Israel had not received such a list, an official familiar with the matter said.

• Last week, Hamas representatives indicated that the group had approved an Israeli list of 34 hostages to be released in the first phase of a deal, but it did not specify how many of them were still alive. On Wednesday, Israeli authorities announced that the body of one of the hostages whose name was on the list – Youssef Ziyadne, 53, an Arab citizen of Israel – had been found in Gaza.

• On Monday, Israeli officials confirmed that the number of hostages to be released in the first phase was 33 and said their assessment was that most of them were still alive.

• But Hamas has agreed to Israel’s request to include 11 disputed individuals on the list of hostages to be released in the first phase of an agreement. Israel classifies them as civilians, but Hamas considers them soldiers, the two Israeli officials and the Palestinian said. Israel is considering Hamas’s demand that the eleven be treated as soldiers who would be exchanged for a larger number of Palestinian prisoners than those released for civilian hostages.

Isabel Kershner contributed to this article.