Israel-Gaza ceasefire latest: Truce deal at closest point of war says Qatar as talks in final stages – UK Times

A spokesman for ceasefire talks in Doha told reporters that it is difficult to reveal a timeline for an announcement.

He said: “Negotiations are taking place on final details. We have ironed out the main obstacles.”

“Today we are closest to any time in the past to a deal.

“Any speculation about implementation will be just that, but we all pray it will be at the earliest. The situation is still fluid but we are all upbeat.”

A spokesman for the talks updated reporters amid rumours of breakthrough in a ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas.

He revealed ceasefire drafts had been handed to both sides but urged caution saying: “It’s important not to raise expectations that don’t link to what’s going on on the ground.

“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”.

A statement from the Hostages and Families Forum Headquarters said they were “anxiously” following reports of a possible deal finally being struck for the return of their loved ones.

They said: “The families of the hostages have anxiously followed media reports about a potential deal that could bring their loved ones home.

“The families are hopeful that any deal, even a limited one, represents an important first step toward a comprehensive agreement.

“They are grateful for every hostage who returns home and see each release as progress toward their ultimate goal: the return of all hostages – the living for rehabilitation and the deceased for proper burial.

“We remain hopeful that each step brings us closer to bringing everyone home.

“Earlier this morning, families gathered outside the Knesset in Jerusalem, forming a human chain to send a powerful message: no hostage should be left behind.”

Israeli far-right police minister Itamar Ben-Gvir threatened on Tuesday to quit Benjamin Netanyahu’s government if he agrees to a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal.

Ben-Gvir, whose departure would not bring down Netanyahu’s government, urged Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to join him in a last-ditch attempt to prevent a ceasefire deal, which he described as a dangerous capitulation to Hamas.

“This move is our only chance to prevent (the deal’s) execution, and prevent Israel’s surrender to Hamas, after more than a year of bloody war, in which more than 400 IDF (Israel Defence Forces) soldiers fell in the Gaza Strip, and to ensure that their deaths are not in vain,” Ben-Gvir said on X.

Smotrich said on Monday that he objects to the deal but did not threaten to bolt Netanyahu’s coalition.

On Monday night, Donald Trump described a possible ceasefire as being “very close.”

“I understand … there’s been a handshake and they are getting it finished – and maybe by the end of the week,” Trump told the American cable channel Newsmax Monday night.

He added that part of the deal would see “bodies” brought out of the Gaza Strip, without elaborating.

Relatives of hostages, wounded soldiers and reservists came together under the slogan “no mandate to surrender to Hamas“ and called on the government to release the hostages only through victory over Hamas.

Demonstrators marched from near Israel’s parliament towards the Chords Bridge, lit with the blue and white Israeli flag, shouting slogans against humanitarian aid delivery to Gaza, prisoner exchanges or relinquishing conquered territory.

Protester Tamar Gesundheit, 69, said, “Please President Trump, do not pressure us to give into Hamas. Pressure them to give in to us.”

According to state broadcaster Kan, the protest was organised by the Gvura Forum, which represents some of the families of soldiers killed during the war.

Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich has vowed to oppose a ceasefire deal being negotiated in Qatar to halt Israel’s bombardment in Gaza and secure the release of hostages.

Mr Smotrich described the deal taking shape as “a catastrophe” for Israel’s security and said Israel should keep up its campaign in Gaza until the complete surrender of Hamas.

The hardline nationalist in prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition has been one of the fiercest opponents to a ceasefire deal with Gaza.

His comments yesterday triggered outrage with dozens of members of the hostage families, many carrying photographs of the missing, attacked Mr Smotrich in an emotionally charged encounter that lasted for more than an hour, accusing him of abandoning the 98 Israeli and foreign hostages still left in Gaza.

“The conditions are ripe, it’s time for a deal, the prime minister said it. How can you, the minister of finance, oppose the return of all these abductees,” asked Ofir Angrest, whose brother Matan was taken hostage during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October 2023.

US president-elect Donald Trump said he believed a hostage and ceasefire deal between Hamas in Gaza and Israel could be completed by the end of the week.

“We are very close to getting it done, and they have to get it done. 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,” Mr Trump said in a Newsmax interview.

“And I understand it’s, it’s been – there’s been a handshake and they’re getting it finished,” he added. “But it has to take place.”

Mr Trump’s incoming Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff is in the region and has met with Israeli and Qatari officials in recent days.

The president-elect last week warned that “all hell” would be unleashed on Hamas if a deal is not reached before his inauguration on 20 January.

An Israeli official said negotiations were in advanced stages for the release of up to 33 hostages as part of the ceasefire deal with the Hamas militants in Gaza. Ninety-eight hostages remain in Gaza, according to Israeli authorities.

The first stage would see 33 hostages set free, including children, women, some of whom are female soldiers, men above 50, and the wounded and sick, the official told Reuters.

On the 16th day of the ceasefire, negotiations would start on a second stage during which the remaining living hostages – male soldiers and men of military age – would be released and the bodies of dead hostages returned.

Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar told reporters: “There is progress, it looks much better than previously. I want to thank our American friends for the huge efforts they are investing to secure a hostage deal.”

Israel launched its assault in Gaza after Hamas fighters stormed across its borders in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

In its retaliatory offensive, Israel has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run Strip.

Negotiators will reportedly meet in Doha today in an effort to finalise details of a plan to end the war in Gaza after US president Joe Biden said a ceasefire and hostage release deal he has championed was “on the brink” of coming to fruition.

Mediators gave Israel and Hamas a final draft of an agreement yesterday, an official briefed on the negotiations told Reuters, after a midnight “breakthrough” in talks attended by envoys of both the outgoing US president and president-elect Donald Trump.

“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,” Mr Biden said in a speech yesterday.

The official briefed on the talks, who did not want to be identified, said the text for a ceasefire and release of hostages was presented by Qatar to both sides at talks in Doha.