Negotiations for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip are reportedly at a “decisive” point, with a deal very close to being achieved.
An Israeli delegation is due to arrive in the Qatari capital Doha on Sunday, headed by Mossad chief David Barnea.
A leadership source in Hamas exclusively told The New Arab’s Arabic-language sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed on Saturday that nearly all the details of the “final concept” of a Gaza ceasefire deal had been complete.
The source said that the mediators were now preparing to announce that a ceasefire deal had been reached, after the Israeli delegation sent by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived.
Negotiations have long been stalled and have been continuously scuppered by Netanyahu and his right-wing allies – who have wanted to keep the brutal Gaza war going – whenever a deal appeared close.
However, this time Palestinian sources have indicated that things are different and a ceasefire deal is nearly ready.
Another Palestinian source told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that technical teams from mediating powers the US, Qatar, and Egypt and both sides had finished preparing the agreement.
They added that the agreement would be implemented 24 hours after Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, agrees to it.
Hopes raised for a real agreement
Hopes were previously raised following a visit by Steve Witkoff, an envoy from US President-Elect Donald Trump, to Doha on Friday.
The visit aimed at advancing the ceasefire talks, and Witkoff met with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
He later met with Netanyahu in Israel on Saturday.
Another factor suggesting that a ceasefire deal is truly within reach this time is an upcoming meeting between Gal Hirsch, the Israeli official responsible for negotiations over captives held by Hamas, and the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Mirjana Spoljaric Egger.
33 Israeli captives will reportedly be released by Hamas in the initial stages of the agreement, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
There have been indications that Trump wants to secure a ceasefire deal before his inauguration as US president on 20 January.
Trump, who between 2017 and 2021 presided over what was probably the most pro-Israel US administration ever, previously said on his Truth Social media platform that there would be “hell to pay” if Israeli captives are not released by Hamas on 20 January.
Israel may withdraw from Philadelphi Corridor
Although there is still great secrecy around the details of the deal, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported that the latest ceasefire proposal involves an Israeli withdrawal from the Philadelphi corridor which separates the Gaza Strip from Egypt during the final days of the agreement.
Netanyahu has previously insisted on a permanent Israeli presence on the Philadelphi Corridor as well as the Netzarim Junction in the centre of the Gaza Strip, and this has previously led to the breakdown of talks and the prolongation of the Gaza War.
In the first stages of the agreement, there will be a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, while Israeli observation posts in the devastated territory will remain, according to sources who spoke to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.
There will be a full Israeli withdrawal at the end of the agreement.
Despite the progress of ceasefire negotiations, Israel continued with its attacks on civilians in the Gaza Strip, killing eight people in an airstrike on a school sheltering displaced people in Jabalia in northern Gaza.
At least 46,565 people have been killed as a result of Israel’s attacks, most of them women and children, with over 109,000 wounded. The territory has been utterly devastated by Israel’s attacks with most of the population having to flee their homes multiple times and the true death toll believed to be much higher than official figures.
