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A final round of negotiations is due to begin on Tuesday in Qatar with a view to a truce between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. The outlines of a ceasefire are becoming clearer after 15 months of a war which has left tens of thousands dead.
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January 14, 2025 – 11:14
(Keystone-ATS) A week before Donald Trump’s arrival at the White House, the United States, one of the mediating countries with Qatar and Egypt, affirmed that an agreement on a truce associated with a release of hostages detained in the Palestinian territory should be concluded within the week.
A source close to the negotiations said on Tuesday that a “final round” of negotiations was due to begin the same day in Qatar.
These discussions bring together the heads of Israeli intelligence agencies, American envoys and the Prime Minister of Qatar on one side, and mediators and Hamas on the other, said this source, with a view to “finalizing the last details of the agreement”.
Israel meanwhile is increasing airstrikes against the Islamist movement in the Gaza Strip, where more than 50 Palestinians were killed Monday in Gaza City alone, according to emergency services.
“Schools, homes and even gatherings” were targeted, Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal told AFP, while the army said it was investigating this information.
Five Israeli soldiers, according to the army, were killed the same day in combat in the north of the territory, where most of the Israeli offensive against Hamas has been concentrated since the fall.
“At your fingertips”
An agreement based on an American proposal formulated several months ago is “on the verge of being concluded,” said American President Joe Biden on Monday evening, after statements to the same effect from his National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan.
“We are close to a deal and we can get it done this week,” Jake Sullivan said. “I’m not making any promises or predictions, but it’s within reach,” he added.
This is not the first time that the Biden administration has assured that an agreement is close, but these statements are the most optimistic heard recently from American officials.
Since the start of the war triggered on October 7, 2023 by the bloody attack by Hamas against Israel, only one one-week truce has been observed at the end of November 2023 and the indirect negotiations carried out since have encountered the intransigence of both camps .
But the talks intensified in the run-up to Donald Trump’s return to the presidency of the United States on January 20, in a climate of increased international pressure on the different parties.
“Hell”
Donald Trump recently promised “hell” to the region if the hostages were not released before his return to power.
Officials from both camps reported progress in the talks on Monday, having made it possible to remove “the last blocking points” according to a source close to the negotiations.
The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, met on Monday with envoys from Joe Biden and Donald Trump, as well as a delegation from Hamas. Joe Biden spoke on Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, then on Monday with Sheikh Tamim.
The negotiations aim to establish a ceasefire associated with the release of the 94 hostages still held in Gaza, 34 of whom have died according to the army.
According to a source close to the talks, the latest proposal initially provides for the release of more than thirty Israeli hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
According to Israeli commentators, an agreement is now within reach, in particular because of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to ignore pressure from his far-right ministers, reinforced in early November by the rallying of the center-right party. right by Gideon Saar.
