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By Andrew Mills and Nidal Al-Mughrabi
DOHA/CAIRO (Reuters) – Mediator Qatar handed Israel and Hamas a final draft document to end the war in Gaza on Monday, after midnight talks attended by a delegation from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, an official in the negotiations told Reuters.
The official said the text of the ceasefire and hostage release was hammered out in talks in Doha attended by the heads of Israel’s Mossad and Shin Bet intelligence agencies and Qatar’s prime minister, as well as US envoy Steve Witkoff when Trump took office. next week. Departed US administration officials are also believed to be involved.
“The next 24 hours will be crucial to reach an agreement,” the official said.
Israel’s Khan Radio, citing an Israeli official, reported on Monday that Israeli and Hamas delegations in Qatar had received the draft and that the Israeli delegation had briefed Israeli leaders. Israel, Hamas and Qatar’s foreign ministry declined to confirm or comment.
Officials from both sides expressed progress in the talks without confirming that a final draft had been reached.
A senior Israeli official said the deal could be closed within days if Hamas responds to the proposal. A Palestinian official close to the negotiations said the information from Doha was “very promising,” adding that “gaps were narrowing and if all goes well, there is a big push to reach an agreement at the end.”
The United States, Qatar and Egypt have been working on negotiations to end the war in Gaza for more than a year, so far to no avail.
Hell to pay
Trump’s January 20 inauguration is now widely seen as a deadline in the region. President-elect Joe Biden has pushed hard for a deal before leaving, saying “there will be hell to pay” unless hostages held by Hamas are released before he takes office.
The official said the talks continued into Monday morning, with Witkoff pressuring the Israeli delegation in Doha and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani to press Hamas officials to finalize the deal.
The official said that the head of Egypt’s General Intelligence Organization, Hassan Mahmoud Rashad, was present in the Qatari capital and was part of the discussion.
Trump’s envoy, Witkoff, has made several trips to Qatar and Israel since late November. He arrived in Doha on Friday and traveled to Israel to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday before returning to Doha.
Biden spoke to Netanyahu by phone on Sunday, stressing the “immediate need for a ceasefire in Gaza and the return of hostages to humanitarian aid, ending the war under the accord,” the White House said.
In the year In October 2023, Israel launched its offensive in Gaza after Hamas fighters breached its border, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages.
Since then, more than 46,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials, much of the area has been destroyed and a humanitarian crisis has taken hold, and most of its population has been displaced.
For months, both sides have broadly agreed in principle to end the fighting in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Hamas and Israel. However, Hamas said that the agreement should end the war permanently and allow the Israelis to withdraw from Gaza.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a staunch nationalist who has opposed previous attempts to reach a deal, denounced the latest proposals as “capitulation” and “a threat to the national security of the State of Israel.”
