Hamas has accepted a draft agreement for a ceasefire with Israel which would involve a pause in fighting and the immediate release of a dozen Israeli hostages, two officials involved in the talks said Tuesday. The plan, however, would need approval on the Israeli side to go ahead in what looks like the most promising push for a ceasefire agreement between the pair in months. The agreement is set to be submitted to the Israeli Cabinet for approval, according to the officials. Earlier today, another official spoke on condition of anonymity that the next 24 hours would be critical in agreeing a truce that would see the halting of over a year of war between Israel and Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. The Qatari Foreign Ministry confirmed Tuesday morning that discussions were nailing down the "final details" although added that those should wait for an official announcement — a nod to the fact that officials have claimed they were close to cinching an agreement before to no avail. This comes as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said a deal this week is "very close", adding he hoped to complete it before president-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated at the end of January. For his part, Trump told US channel Newsmax he understood a ceasefire was "getting finished" and that there had been a "handshake" in the negotiations. Despite talk of a ceasefire, there was no immediate break in fighting as Israeli strikes killed at least 18 people overnight in the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian health officials. There was also no official comment from Palestinian authorities on a potential ceasefire, apart from the Palestinian Foreign Ministry warning of Israeli plans to "disconnect Gaza from the West Bank." US President Joe Biden has said that the deal is based on one he laid out in detail in May which would involve a so-called three part "phased ceasefire". It is understood that Netanyahu has signaled he is only committed to the first phase of a partial hostage release in exchange for weekslong halt in fighting. The possibility of a lasting ceasefire would be negotiated after the first phase begins, according to Hamas officials. In the "first phase" of the ceasefire Hamas would release dozens of the most vulnerable hostages taken to Gaza by Hamas militants on 7 October. Reuters has reported that, currently, negotiations were in advanced stages for the release of 33 of the 98 women, children and female soldiers. In this stage, at least some Palestinians would be allowed to return to their homes. In the "second phase" Hamas would release the remaining hostages in exchange for around 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, a withdrawal of Israeli forces and a lasting ceasefire. The remaining sticking points will be negotiated during the first phase. Netanyahu has a majority within his coalition government, but has faced objections from key allies and hardline ministers including his national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir and finance minister Bezalel Smotrich. Ben-Gvir called the proposed deal "terrible" in a lengthy post on social media, saying it would "erase the war achievements that have been achieved with much blood by our fighters, so far, in the Gaza Strip," Itamar said, threatening to resign if the deal was reached. Ben-Gvir also said he had prevented previous ceasefires through political pressure and threatened to do the same this time. Smotrich called for Gaza's occupation until Hamas was defeated and all hostages are returned. Netanyahu has a reasonable chance of pushing the agreement through despite opposition, however, he would face trouble if the parties of the two ministers withdrew from his ruling coalition and left him with a minority government. Although sources say talks have progressed its not the first time officials in the US, Egypt and Qatar — who have spent over a year trying to broker an agreement — have said they were on the verge of reaching a deal several times over the past year only for discussions to stall. An agreement has been held up by a number of contentious issues, including details on the withdrawal of Israeli troops and the exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners. Hamas has said it won't release a number of Israeli hostages held in Gaza without Israel withdrawing its troops. On the other side, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to keep fighting until "total victory" has been achieved over the militant group. Officials hope that, if the initial phase of fighting is stalled, the two sides can work through an agreement on these sticking points. — Euronews
