Doha/Cairo/Jerusalem, Jan. 14 ‘25 (Reuters/TNZ) Negotiators try to clinch an agreement on Tuesday on the final details of a ceasefire in Gaza after marathon talks in Qatar.
Mediators and the warring sides both said a deal was closer than ever.
However, after more than eight hours of talks, a senior Hamas official told Reuters late on Tuesday that the Palestinian group was still waiting for Israel to submit maps showing how its forces would withdraw from Gaza.
“Hamas hasn’t delivered its response yet (to the ceasefire plan) because the occupation (Israel) has not submitted the maps that will show the areas to which its forces will withdraw,’’ an official, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue said.
He added the maps included Israeli withdrawals from the Netzarim area in the middle of the Gaza Strip. This is to allow the return of the displaced people to their homes.
These are in Jabalia in the north of the tiny territory, the Philadelphi road along the southern border with Egypt and Rafah, also near that border.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Majed Al-Ansari, earlier told a news conference that talks on the final details were underway.
U.S. President Joe Biden, whose administration has been taking part alongside an envoy of President-elect Donald Trump, said a deal was close.
Hamas said the talks had reached the final steps. It expressed the hope that this round of negotiations would lead to a deal after mediation by Qatar, Egypt and the United States.
An Israeli official said talks had reached a critical phase, although some details need fine-tuning. “We are close, we are not there yet.’’
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A militant group “Islamic Jihad” said it would send a senior delegation that would arrive in Doha on Tuesday night to take part in final arrangements for a ceasefire deal.
Islamic Jihad is separate from Hamas and also holds hostages in Gaza.
`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,’’ Biden said on Monday.
If successful, the phased ceasefire could halt fighting that decimated Gaza and killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.
That in turn could ease tensions across the wider Middle East.
The region is soaked in war-fuelling conflict in the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq. It raised fears of an all-out war between Israel and Iran.
Israel would recover around 100 remaining hostages and bodies from among those captured in the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks that precipitated the war. In return, it would free Palestinian detainees.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a speech, outlined a vision for governing the Palestinian territories after the war.
He said it was up to Hamas to accept a deal that was already set for implementation. (Reuters)
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