Hamas 'accepts' Gaza ceasefire deal with Israel 'nailing down final details'

14 January 2025, 10:56 | Updated: 14 January 2025, 12:28

A ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas is edging closer, with the militant Palestinian group accepting the proposed draft agreement.

Hamas has accepted the current draft of a proposed ceasefire deal with Israel, according to reports.

Ceasefire drafts had been handed to both sides but Israel is yet to agree to the plan, with a finalised deal expected as soon as today.

Urging caution, Qatar foreign minister Majed al-Ansari said: “It’s important not to raise expectations that don’t link to what’s going on on the ground."

It comes after President Joe Biden, and incoming President Donald Trump both suggested a deal was on the verge of being agreed.

Al-Ansari continued: “We do believe we are at a final stage. We are hopeful this will lead very soon to an agreement. We appreciate the roles of both the Biden administration and President Trump himself in these talks.

“The talks in Doha are productive and positive. Obviously we have said this for months this war should have been over a long time ago.”

He added we needed “clarity and stability in the region”.

Today talks between Israel and Hamas representatives resumed in the Qatari capital Doha.

US President Joe Biden indicated a deal to stop the fighting was "on the brink" yesterday while Donald Trump suggested a ceasefire could be agreed by the end of the week.

The draft agreement includes provisions for the release of hostages and a phased Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza.

According to a report from the Times of Israel, the ceasefire deal, which is yet to be finalised, would come in the form of a phased agreement.

The first stages would see Hamas release 33 so-called “humanitarian” hostages, including children, women, the elderly, female soldiers and those suffering from illness.

The Israeli government reportedly believes most of these hostages are still alive but are yet to receive official confirmation.

Sixteen days after a ceasefire is signed, Israel will begin negotiations for the release of all remaining captives, including military-age men, male soldiers and the bodies of dead hostages.

94 of the 251 hostages taken by Hamas on October 7 are believed to be alive in Gaza.

34 have been confirmed dead by the IDF.In exchange, Israel will reportedly return a slew of Palestinian prisoners - more than 3,660 Palestinians are being held in Israel under administrative detention as of last year.

The Saudi TV station al-Hadath reports that high-profile figures such as Marwan Barghouti, the jailed Intifada leader, who is serving multiple life terms for murder, will not be included in the deal.

The ceasefire would not see Israel withdraw from Gaza. Instead, a new buffer zone will be erected where the IDF stations troops to “defend” the country’s border.

At least 46,584 Palestinian people have been killed and 109,731 injured since Israel launched its assault on Gaza in the wake of the October 7 attacks in 2023.

The vast majority of those killed in Israel’s bombardments have been women and children.

Gaza ceasefire talks nearing another 'breakthrough' ahead of Trump inauguration

Two Hamas officials said the group has accepted the draft agreement, with Israel still weighing the deal.

In his final foreign policy speech last night, the outgoing US president said the deal would include a hostage release deal and a "surge" of aid to Palestinians.

Mr Biden said: "So many innocent people have been killed, so many communities have been destroyed. Palestinian people deserve peace.

"The deal would free the hostages, halt the fighting, provide security to Israel, and allow us to significantly surge humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians who suffered terribly in this war that Hamas started."

President-elect Donald Trump has also discussed a possible peace deal during a phone interview with the Newsmax channel."We're very close to getting it done and they have to get it done," he said.

"If they don't get it done, there's going to be a lot of trouble out there, a lot of trouble, like they have never seen before.

"And they will get it done. And I understand there's been a handshake and they're getting it finished and maybe by the end of the week. But it has to take place, it has to take place."