Israel-Hamas deal – latest: Israeli officials reveal how Gaza ceasefire will work – UK Times

Lebanon’s new president has asked prominent diplomat and jurist Nawaf Salam to form the country’s new government after he was named prime minister by a large number of legislators yesterday in a move that has apparently angered Hezbollah.

Mr Salam is currently serving as the head of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and his nomination was made by Western-backed groups as well as independents in the Lebanese parliament.

He has the support of Saudi Arabia and Western countries as well. Hezbollah legislators abstained from naming any candidate for the prime minister’s post.

Mr Salam’s nomination is seen by many as a glimpse of hope after the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war that left 4,000 people dead and more than 16,000 wounded and caused destruction totaling hundreds of millions of dollars. The war stopped in late November when a US-brokered 60-day truce went into effect.

Hamas said on Monday that talks over some core issues for a ceasefire deal in Gaza have made progress, an official in the Palestinian group told Reuters.

“The negotiation over some core issues made progress and we are working to conclude what remains soon,” added the official who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.

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.

US secretary of state Antony Blinken said the ball was in Hamas’ court after president Joe Biden claimed a ceasefire between Israel and the militants in Gaza to release the hostages was on “the brink” of coming to fruition.

“The ball is in Hamas’s court, but it’s very close, and we are very hopeful that we get it over the finish line finally after all this time,” Mr Blinken told MSNBC. Hamas said it was keen to reach a deal, according to Reuters. “The negotiation over some core issues made progress and we are working to conclude what remains soon,” a Hamas official said.

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

Mr Biden in his speech on Monday said the deal would “free the hostages, halt the fighting, provide security to Israel and allow us to significantly surge humanitarian assistance to Palestinians”.

The Israeli army said on Monday five of its soldiers had been killed during combat in northern Gaza.

An army statement did not say when the soldiers were killed.

Mediators gave Israel and Hamas a final draft of a deal on Monday to end the war in Gaza, an official briefed on the negotiations said, after a midnight “breakthrough” in talks attended by envoys of both Joe Biden and Donald Trump.

The official said the text for a ceasefire and release of hostages was presented by Qatar to both sides at talks in Doha, which included the chiefs of Israel‘s Mossad and Shin Bet spy agencies and Qatar’s prime minister.

Steve Witkoff, who will become US envoy when Trump returns to the US presidency next week, attended the talks, the official said. A US source said the outgoing Biden administration’s envoy Brett McGurk was also there.

“The next 24 hours will be pivotal to reaching the deal,” the official said, characterising the draft as the outcome of a breakthrough reached in the early hours of Monday.

President Joe Biden has said a deal that will secure the release of hostages and achieve a ceasefire in Gaza was on the brink of coming to fruition, adding that his administration was working urgently to close the agreement.

In a rare State Department speech, the outgoing US president said: “We’re on the brink of the proposal that I laid out in detail months ago, finally coming to fruition.”