The United States has announced that a ceasefire agreement in Gaza could be reached as soon as this week, although the Israeli army continues to pound the Palestinian enclave with deadly effect.
On Monday, outgoing US President Joe Biden said a ceasefire was within reach after more than a year of carnage.
“In the war between Israel and Hamas, we are about to see a proposal that I laid out in detail months ago come to fruition,” Biden said in a foreign policy speech.
“I have learned over many years of public service to never, ever, ever give up,” he added. “We are doing everything in our power to close this case.”
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan also said at a news conference earlier in the day that a deal could be possible within days.
But, he added, such a deal is not guaranteed.
“We are close to an agreement and it can be concluded this week. I’m not making any promises or predictions, but it’s there, and we’re in a position to work to make it happen,” Sullivan said.
He also confirmed that Biden had recently spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani about the negotiations.
The outgoing US president will also soon meet with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
“We are now at a pivotal moment in negotiations towards a hostage agreement and a ceasefire in Gaza,” Sullivan said.
Ceasefire talks, brokered by the United States, Qatar and Egypt, are underway at an advanced stage in Doha, where top Israeli negotiators, such as the heads of the Mossad and IDF intelligence agencies, Shin Bet, should stay another day.
Hamas also said the talks had made progress on some of the contentious issues that have been discussed repeatedly during 15 months of a war that has killed more than 46,500 Palestinians in Gaza.
“Negotiations on some fundamental issues have progressed and we are working to conclude soon what remains,” a Palestinian group official told Reuters news agency on condition of anonymity.
Officials said a final draft of the deal, which includes an exchange of captives in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, was presented to all parties after latest talks in the Qatari capital yielded results .
Netanyahu and Biden held a phone call on Sunday to discuss the latest developments, with Biden reaffirming that the time has come to reach an agreement.
US President-elect Donald Trump and his top officials have repeatedly threatened that there will be “hell to pay” if the captives are not released or if there is no deal before Trump takes office. functions on January 20.
“It is very clear that President Trump threatening Hamas and clearly saying there will be hell to pay is part of the reason we have made progress in freeing some hostages,” the vice president said elected JD Vance.
Netanyahu is also facing internal pressure from far-right members of his governing coalition, who are threatening to leave if a deal is reached – although Netanyahu has stressed that Israel will have military control over Gaza regardless of the outcome. ‘agreement.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who leads one of the radical ultranationalist religious parties in the country’s ruling coalition, said the fact that a deal is taking shape in Qatar is a “security catastrophe.” national”.
Angry family members of Israelis held captive in Gaza entered a committee room of the Israeli parliament on Monday to accuse Smotrich of abandoning their loved ones and say that “conditions are ripe for a deal.”
Israel intensifies attacks during negotiations
The Israeli military launched relentless waves of heavy air attacks and artillery bombardments across the Gaza Strip as talks over a possible deal intensified.
Medical sources told Tel Aviv Tribune on Monday that at least 45 Palestinians had been killed over the past day following Israeli attacks across the enclave.
Many attacks have been focused on Gaza City, in the northern part of Gaza, where more than 100 days of Israeli siege have left at least 5,000 people dead or missing, according to local authorities.
The siege also destroyed hospitals and other critical infrastructure, displaced thousands of people and saw many Palestinians taken prisoner by the Israeli army.
Tel Aviv Tribune’s Hani Mahmoud said Monday from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza that numerous drone attacks had taken place since the early hours of the morning.
“This is happening in areas where the vast majority of displaced people have found shelter, densely populated areas,” he said.
The Israeli army said five of its soldiers were killed in fighting in northern Gaza on Monday, while eight others were injured.
These deaths bring to 408 the losses of the Israeli army in its war against Gaza since October 27, 2023.
Yossi Beilin, a former Israeli justice minister who initiated the Oslo peace accords in the early 1990s, told Tel Aviv Tribune that a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was “long overdue.”
“This is the main question: how many (captives and prisoners) will be released? Once they agree on the subject and timing of publication, then it is possible to reach an agreement,” he said.
The humanitarian situation remains dire in Gaza as the Israeli army continues to prevent most aid from arriving and starve the population, about half of which are children.
