Palestinians in the Gaza Strip at a food distribution point in Khan Younis city on January 9
Negotiators from the US and Qatar said Israel and Hamas were closest to signing a deal that would help them reach their goal of ending 15 months of conflict.
The AP has a copy of the proposed deal, authenticated by an Egyptian official and a senior Hamas member. An Israeli official said there had been progress, but details were being finalized.
“I believe we will have a ceasefire. It’s closer than ever,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on January 14, asserting that it was up to Hamas.
If a deal is reached, it would not take effect immediately but would require approval from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Security Cabinet and then his entire cabinet.
A three-phase agreement, based on the framework put forward by US President Joe Biden and supported by the United Nations Security Council, will begin with the release of 33 hostages over a six-week period, including women. , children, elderly and wounded, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.
Among these 33 people will be 5 female Israeli soldiers, each of whom will be released in exchange for 50 Palestinian prisoners, including 30 who are serving life sentences.
During this 42-day period, Israeli troops will withdraw from population centers, Palestinians can begin returning to northern Gaza, and there will be an influx of humanitarian aid, with about 600 trucks arriving each day. .
Details of the second phase still have to be negotiated during the first phase. Those details remain difficult to iron out, and the deal does not include written guarantees that the ceasefire will continue until an agreement is reached. That means Israel can continue its military campaign after the first phase ends.
An Israeli official said “detailed negotiations” on phase 2 would begin during the first phase. He said Israel would retain some “assets” during the negotiations, referring to the military presence, and would not leave the Gaza Strip until all the hostages were home.
In the third phase, the bodies of the remaining hostages will be returned in exchange for a 3-5 year Gaza reconstruction plan under international supervision.
Israel believes that about 100 hostages are still being held in Gaza, where it has conducted a military campaign since October 2023 that killed more than 46,000 people, in response to a previous attack by Hamas that killed about 1,200 people. in Israel died.
