Israel and Hamas make final push for Gaza ceasefire deal

Israeli and Hamas negotiators are making a final push in Doha to seal a Gaza ceasefire, with all sides suggesting a deal is almost done.

A breakthrough was reported on Wednesday, with unnamed Israeli officials saying Hamas had accepted the latest draft presented by mediators Qatar, the US and Egypt.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, however, quickly denied the reports. There was no immediate comment from the Palestinian armed group.

On Tuesday night, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said they were “on the brink of an agreement” and were “waiting for the final word from Hamas”.

A senior Hamas official later told the Reuters news agency that he had not given an official response to the draft because Israel had not yet submitted maps showing how its troops would withdraw from the Gaza Strip.

However, Israel’s Haaretz newspaper quoted an Israeli source as denying Hamas’ claim about the maps.

The proposed three-phase deal would begin with an initial six-week ceasefire.

A Palestinian official told the BBC that Hamas would release three hostages on the first day of a deal, after which Israel would begin withdrawing troops from populated areas.

Further hostage releases would then be phased in over the coming weeks, he said, adding that Israel would allow displaced residents to return to northern areas.

Israel has said it hopes to release 33 hostages in the first phase and in exchange for a number of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons.

Negotiations for the second phase – which would require the release of the remaining hostages, the withdrawal of all Israeli troops and “permanent calm” – will begin in two weeks.

A spokesman for Qatar’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday there were no major problems blocking a deal and he hoped the talks would “lead to an agreement very soon”.

However, he warns that this “smallest detail” can still undermine the process.

The Israeli army launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to the group’s unprecedented attack in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which around 1,200 people were killed and another 251 were taken hostage.

Since then, more than 46,700 people have died in Gaza, according to the territory’s Hamas-run Health Ministry. Most of the 2.3 million people have also been displaced, there is widespread destruction and severe shortages of food, fuel, medicine and shelter as they struggle to get aid to those in need.

Israel says 94 of the hostages are still being held by Hamas, of whom 34 are presumed dead. In addition, there are four Israelis kidnapped before the war, two of them dead.

The families of the remaining hostages have asked the Israeli government to do everything to reach an agreement and bring them all home.

“We cannot lose this moment. This is the last moment; we can save them,” said Hadas Kalderon, Ofer Kalderon’s 54-year-old wife.

The Palestinians also dared to hope that the end of the devastating 15-month war was near.

“We are waiting for the ceasefire and the ceasefire. May God complete us in goodness, bless us with peace and allow us to return to our homes,” 54-year-old Amal Saleh told Reuters.

“Even though the schools are bombed, destroyed and ruined, we want to know that we live in peace in the end.”

There has been no break in the intensity of the war, as the negotiations have progressed.

The Israeli army said on Wednesday morning that it had carried out attacks on more than 50 targets throughout the territory in the past day.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said at least 62 people had died in the same period.

Overnight, a strike on a house in the central city of Deir al-Balah killed 11 people, including four children, the Civil Defense agency told AFP news agency.

As he waded through the rubble of the destroyed building, Kifaya Shacoura said the dead were his uncle and aunt, their children and grandchildren.

“People are waiting for a truce to be announced. But, unfortunately, we woke up to the news that they have become…martyrs. What can we say?”

Another seven people were reportedly killed in a strike on a school being used as a shelter for displaced families in northern Gaza City.

The Israeli military said it struck a “terrorist serving in a central position” at a school in the city, and also carried out strikes against Hamas operatives in Deir al-Balah and the southern city of Khan Younis.

He added that measures have been taken to mitigate the damage to civilians, and accused Hamas of exploiting civilian structures for military purposes.