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Mediators are sounding the most optimistic notes to date that Israel and Hamas are about to strike a deal to release hostages and impose a cease-fire in Gaza.
The latest came Tuesday in Doha, the Qatari capital where negotiators have been hammering out details. Biden administration officials, with just days left in power, have been heavily involved, while also looping in representatives of the incoming Trump administration.
Majed Al Ansari, a spokesperson for the Qatari Foreign Ministry, said during a news briefing Tuesday that the two sides “are on the final details of reaching an agreement” and that negotiations are at the “final stage.” He said there has been “significant progress” in recent days. Al Ansari stopped short of announcing an agreement has been reached.
Al Ansari’s comments follow statements from top U.S. officials about the improving prospects for a deal to end the war in the Gaza Strip, which has left the territory in ruins and killed thousands of civilians.
In a speech to State Department employees on Monday, President Joe Biden said that mediators were “on the brink” of securing a cease-fire and hostage release deal. Biden also spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Jan. 10 and the leader of Qatar on Jan. 13. He expressed his eagerness to speak with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, another key player in the talks.
At the White House on Monday, national security adviser Jake Sullivan acknowledged “there has been a little bit of a Lucy and the football quality” to Gaza cease-fire talks “where we thought we got really close and then it just didn’t happen.” That said, Sullivan insisted prospects were good for a deal.
“We are close to a deal, and it can get done this week. I’m not making a promise or a prediction, but it is there for the taking, and we are going to work to make it happen,” he said.
Israeli officials declined to comment on the reports, though firebrand Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir, a far-right figure with strong anti-Palestinian views, has threatened to sink any hostage release deal and leave Netanyahu’s government. Hamas has not commented publicly on the state of the deal.
