Gaza ceasefire deal in ‘final stages’: Qatar 

A ceasefire in the Israel and Hamas war in Gaza is at its “closest point” yet, Qatar has said.

Negotiations to bring the 15-month conflict to an end are in their final stages, Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Majed al-Ansari told a news conference in Doha on Tuesday. Qatar, alongside the United States and Egypt, has sought to mediate a deal for many months.

“A draft agreement has been handed to both Hamas and Israel and major obstacles on key contentious issues between the two sides have been addressed,” al-Ansari said.

“Current discussions in Doha are focused on finalising the remaining details,” he continued. “Today, we are at the closest point ever to having a deal.”

The spokesperson predicted that the implementation of the ceasefire agreement would occur “very shortly after it is finalised”.

“We do believe that we [Qatar] were able, through negotiations and through our partners in Egypt and the United States, to minimise a lot of the disagreements between both parties,” al-Ansari added.

However, he cautioned against setting expectations too high until there is a formal announcement.

“We do believe we are at a developed stage, we do believe we are at a final stage, but obviously, until there is an announcement, there will be no announcement,” he said. “Therefore, we shouldn’t be overexcited about what’s happening right now. But certainly, we are hopeful.”

The Israeli prime minister was set to hold urgent top-level security consultations Tuesday night to discuss the deal that is currently on the table, said Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut, reporting from Jordan’s Amman.

“Remember that Benjamin Netanyahu, for more than a year, has said that even if a pause in the fighting is secured, he would still want to return to the fighting to achieve all of the military objectives that he set out after the war on Gaza began. So it’s still unclear if this ceasefire deal would be an ultimtae end to the war, or if it’s just a pause in the fighting.”

The US, Egypt and Qatar have spent the past year trying to mediate an end to the 15-month war and secure the release of dozens of captives taken during the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023. Some 100 Israelis are still captive inside Gaza, although the Israeli military believes at least one-third of them are dead.

Israel’s military bombardment of Gaza has killed more than 46,000 people and injured nearly 110,000, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

According to details leaked by the Israeli media, the ceasefire deal being hammered out will be implemented in three stages.

In the first, 33 Israeli captives being held in Gaza will be released. Israel will free 50 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for each female soldier released, and 30 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the remaining civilians being held captive.

The second phase will begin 16 days later, focusing on negotiations to release the remaining prisoners. The final stage will address long-term arrangements, including an alternative government in Gaza and rebuilding efforts.

The reports also said Israel will completely withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor – the strip of land between the borders of Gaza and Egypt – at the end of the first phase of the deal.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he also believes there will be a ceasefire agreement, also laying out Washington’s “day after” plan for Gaza.

The outgoing diplomat said a key element would include international help for the Palestinian Authority (PA) to establish an interim administration to oversee civil affairs in the enclave, with the government handing over control to a “reformed” PA later.

Blinken also said an interim security force in Gaza would include troops from “partner nations” to secure an environment for increased humanitarian assistance and rebuilding. This is while Israel has repeatedly rejected allowing the PA to take over Gaza.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) also sent a delegation to Doha on Tuesday to participate in discussions around the final details of the potential deal.

Dozens more Palestinians were killed by Israeli strikes across Gaza on Tuesday, with medical sources confirming at least 33 fatalities to Al Jazeera by mid-afternoon.

The Israeli military has surged its attacks in recent days as the ceasefire appears closest to the finish line. In one of its latest attacks, Israel killed at least four Palestinians in central Gaza’s Deir el-Balah, where a fisherman was also killed off the coast by an Israeli gunboat in a separate attack.

The record number of Palestinian journalists killed in the Gaza Strip also rose to 204 on Tuesday after journalist Mohammed al-Talmas succumbed to injuries sustained as a result of an Israeli bombing of Gaza City a day earlier.