Hopes raised for Gaza ceasefire as parties talk up 'serious' progress

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Hamas and US officials raised hopes that negotiations in Doha and Cairo over recent months may bring the 14-month conflict in Gaza to a ceasefire.

Hamas, which runs Gaza and has been at war with Israel since October 2023, said progress in the Doha talks, mediated by the US, Egypt and Qatar, was "serious and positive", indicating that a ceasefire and deal for the return of the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza may be possible.

"Hamas confirms that in light of the serious and positive discussions taking place in Doha today under the auspices of the Qatari and Egyptian mediators, reaching an agreement for a ceasefire and prisoner exchange is possible if [Israel] stops setting new conditions," the group said in a statement.

The war, sparked by the attack on southern Israel by Hamas during which militants killed 1,200 people and took 250 hostages back to Gaza, has resulted in the deaths of more than 45,000 people and reduced much of the enclave to rubble.

The last time a ceasefire deal was reached between the two warring parties was in November 2023, when 100 Israeli hostages were exchanged for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and there was a cessation in hostilities. But the deal fell apart within a week.

Sources briefed on the negotiations told The National that a mid-level team from Israel's spy agency Mossad and its domestic security counterpart Shin Bet are in Doha ironing out technical details of a possible deal. They said the discussions included the monitoring of the Egypt-Gaza border and security measures to weed out militants when displaced Palestinians in Gaza are allowed to return home to the north of the enclave.

That technical details were being discussed, they explained, suggested a ceasefire deal and prisoner and hostage swap could be within reach. However, they cautioned that past optimism an agreement might be imminent had proved premature.

They said Hamas has dropped two core demands - a permanent ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza - positions that had in the past derailed efforts to reach a deal. "Unless Israel makes impossible last-minute demands, a deal could realistically be struck soon," said one of the sources.

Hopes are high for a deal before the new year, after talks resumed in the Qatari capital last week following a three-month hiatus. Sources told The National at the time that Hamas had agreed in principle to a truce of up to 30 days and had drawn up a list of hostages it could release.

On Tuesday, White House spokesman John Kirby said progress was being made. "We believe - and the Israelis have said this - that we're getting closer, and no doubt about it, we believe that, but we also are cautious in our optimism," Mr Kirby told Fox News. "We've been in this position before where we weren't able to get it over the finish line."

The parties are considering a ceasefire plan put together by the Biden administration in the US and presented for negotiation in May. Thus far, talks have repeatedly fallen apart over the issue of an Israeli military presence on the ground in Gaza. Hamas has previously said it will not release hostages back to Israel until its troops are out of the enclave.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz did not appear to move from this position on Tuesday, saying Israel will have security control over Gaza with full freedom of action after defeating Hamas. "My position on Gaza is clear. After we defeat Hamas's military and governmental power in Gaza, Israel will have security control over Gaza with full freedom of action," Mr Katz wrote on X.

"We will not allow any terrorist organisation against Israeli communities and Israeli citizens from Gaza. We will not allow a return to the reality of before October 7."

But he told the Israeli parliament's foreign affairs committee on Monday that Israel had not been this close to a deal since the November ceasefire.