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Hamas approves Gaza truce deal: Report
After months of failed bids to end the deadliest war in Gaza’s history, negotiators were making a final push in Qatar to seal a cease-fire, AFP reported.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari had said on Tuesday that negotiations were in their “final stages”, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with top security officials to discuss the deal late that night, his office said.
Two Palestinian sources close to the talks told AFP on Wednesday that Hamas and its ally Islamic Jihad had approved the draft agreement.
Israel’s onslaught on Gaza has killed 46,707 people, most of them civilians, according to figures from the territory’s health ministry that the UN considers reliable.
Pressure to put an end to the fighting had ratcheted up in recent days, as mediators Qatar, Egypt and the United States intensified efforts to seal a deal and enable the release of the hostages.
Israeli cabinet spokesman David Mencer said the first phase of a deal would see 33 Israeli hostages freed, while two Palestinian sources close to Hamas told AFP that Israel would release about 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange.
A source close to Hamas said that the initial hostage release would be “in batches, starting with children and women”.
Negotiations for a second phase would commence on the truce’s 16th day, an Israeli official said, with media reports saying it would see the release of the remaining captives.
Under the proposed deal, Israel would maintain a buffer zone inside Gaza during the first phase, according to Israeli media.
Among the sticking points in talks have been disagreements over the permanence of any cease-fire, the withdrawal of Israeli troops and the scale of humanitarian aid for the Palestinian territory.