A ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas to end the bloodshed in Gaza was close to ‘finished’ last night, Donald Trump said.
Relatives of Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas were told during a meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu that a deal to let their loved ones go and end the war could be settled within hours.
Work was under way on the ground last night to ready the transfer of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners as mediators hammered out final terms in Doha.
Meanwhile, Egypt was also preparing to open the Rafah border crossing to allow captives out of the Gaza Strip while medical teams and hospitals in Israel prepared to receive them.
An official involved in the talks in Qatar said this is the most serious negotiation since the last ceasefire in November 2023 as they entered the final round yesterday.
Mr Trump said: ‘I understand there’s been a handshake and they’re getting it finished and maybe by the end of the week, but it has to take place.’
Both sides have agreed in broad terms for an initial exchange of 33 hostages for hundreds of jailed terrorists over 43 days, with three hostages released per week.
But Hamas has yet to reveal how many of those captives are alive, which will affect the number of Palestinians are released from custody.
It is the first phase of a multi-stage deal that would end with all of the 98 hostages released, the IDF pulling out of the Gaza Strip and work commencing to rebuild the ruined territory.
Observers have suggested Mr Trump’s inauguration next Monday is seen as an unofficial deadline.
The President-elect’s incoming Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff attended the talks and was seen as vital in leaning on Israel in the early hours on Monday to secure a ‘breakthrough’.
Israel has reportedly agreed to withdraw from Gaza for the first time, stating they will do so once the last hostage is released. This had been a major sticking point previously as Hamas demanded they pull out before any captives are freed.
Arab officials said Mohammed Sinwar, the hardline leader of Hamas in Gaza and brother of slain former leader Yahya Sinwar, has agreed in principle to the terms of the deal yesterday, the Wall Street Journal reported.
‘Today we are closer than any time in the past to a deal,’ said Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said: ‘The ball is now in Hamas’s court. If Hamas accepts, the deal is ready to be concluded and implemented. I believe we will get a ceasefire.’
Once the finer details are worked out, the plan will be submitted to the Israeli cabinet for final approval.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right coalition allies Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich threatened to resign and collapse the government, labelling the ‘terrible deal’ a ‘catastrophe’.
Ben-Gvir even boasted that he had repeatedly sabotaged previous truce talks. The Jewish extremists want to continue the war until Hamas is completely destroyed.
But the moderate opposition leader, Yair Lapid, has promised to step in and prevent the government collapsing to get the deal done.
A source told the Telegraph: ‘Lapid will offer a safety net to Netanyahu to prevent his government from falling after a deal is done, for an agreed amount of time.
‘In other words, there is no excuse [not to reach an agreement].’
Families of the 98 hostages now face an agonising wait to find out if their loved ones are alive and who will be released first.
