Keystone-SDA
Negotiators gathered to reach a ceasefire in Gaza seek Wednesday to finalize an agreement, now “at the final stage” according to Qatar after 15 months of a war between Israel and Hamas which has killed tens of thousands of dead.
This content was published on
January 15, 2025 – 10:00
(Keystone-ATS) A few days before Donald Trump’s return to the White House on January 20, indirect discussions intensified in Doha with a view to a truce associated with the release of hostages held in Gaza since the attack by the Islamist movement Hamas against Israel on October 7, 2023, which started the war.
While the two parties are still making their demands, American President Joe Biden and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, during a call on Tuesday, urged them “to show the necessary flexibility,” according to the Egyptian presidency.
Qatar, the main mediating country with the United States and Egypt, declared that the negotiations were “at the final stage”, with the “main issues” having been resolved, without specifying which ones.
Exchange and agenda
According to two sources close to Hamas, 33 hostages should be released during the first phase of the agreement in progress, in exchange for a thousand Palestinians detained by Israel. The captives would be released “in groups, starting with children and women,” according to one of them.
The Israeli government confirmed that it was seeking the release of “33 hostages” during the first stage, and was prepared to release “hundreds” of Palestinian prisoners.
According to an Israeli official, negotiations for the second phase of the agreement will begin on the “16th day” after the first phase comes into force.
The second phase will concern the release of the last hostages, “i.e. the soldiers and men of age to be mobilized and (the return) of the bodies of the dead hostages”, according to the Times of Israel.
