Gaza ceasefire mediators and Hamas maintain low-level contact, but truce remains elusive

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Gaza ceasefire mediators and Hamas have maintained low-level contact over a possible deal to pause the war and free hostages in the besieged enclave, two sources told The National on Monday.

The contact has mostly been maintained by Cairo, the sources said. Egypt, along with the US and Qatar, has tried without success over the past year to broker a ceasefire and hostage deal between Hamas and Israel.

Washington has designated Hamas as a terrorist group and does not deal with the group directly, while Qatar, a close US ally, hosted the group's political leadership for more than a decade, but recently said it was suspending its mediation role.

The sources said the contact was not focused on a specific issue and was largely meant to keep communication channels open with Hamas. They added that contact would probably continue until the next effort by the three mediators to broker a deal, which appears unlikely before US president-elect Donald Trump takes office in January.

More than 44,200 Gazans have been killed and more than 104,600 injured since the conflict began. It was sparked by a Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7 last year, in which 1,200 people were killed and about 250 taken to Gaza as hostages. About 100 remain in the enclave, including at least 40 who have died in captivity, Israel's military has said.

The war has spilt over into Lebanon, with Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel now engaged in ground battles in southern Lebanon amid relentless air strikes by Israel. Israel's ambassador to Washington, Mike Herzog, said on Monday that an agreement to end the fighting in Lebanon could be reached “within days”. There are still “points to finalise”, he told Israel's Army Radio.

“Reaching a Lebanon ceasefire is likely to come first,” one of the sources told The National. “Gaza is too complicated and Hamas will not agree to a brief truce and less than a full Israeli withdrawal. Only the United States can make ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon happen.”

Israel has said the war in Gaza will only end when the hostages are released and Hamas's military and governing capabilities are eradicated. Hamas says it will only release the hostages if Israel agrees to a permanent ceasefire and withdraws fully from Gaza.