DOHA/CAIRO, Jan 13 (Reuters) – Mediators gave Israel and Hamas a final draft of a deal on Monday to end the war in Gaza, an official briefed on the negotiations said, after a midnight “breakthrough” in talks attended by envoys of both outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump. Biden said a ceasefire and hostage release deal he had championed was on “the brink” of coming to fruition and Hamas said it was keen on reaching an agreement. “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 that Hamas started,” Biden said in a speech to highlight his foreign policy achievements. The official briefed on the talks, who did not want to be otherwise identified, said the text for a ceasefire and release of hostages was presented by Qatar to both sides at talks in Doha, which included the chiefs of Israel’s Mossad and Shin Bet spy agencies and Qatar’s prime minister. Another round of talks is planned in Doha on Tuesday morning to finalise remaining details, with Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Biden’s envoy Brett McGurk expected to attend, as they had on Monday, the official said. An Israeli official said negotiations were in advanced stages for the release of up to 33 hostages as part of the deal. The Hamas delegation in Doha issued a statement after a meeting with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani saying talks were progressing well.
Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told reporters the negotiations were at a “pivotal” point, with gaps between two sides slowly getting removed. “I think there is a good chance we can close this … the parties are right on the cusp of being able to close this deal,” he said.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the sides were “closer than we’ve ever been” to a deal, and the ball was in Hamas’ court. “We are very hopeful that we get it over the finish line, finally after all this time,” he told MSNBC, adding that the proposed deal was based on a framework Biden put out in May. Blinken said negotiators wanted to make sure Trump would continue to back the deal on the table so Witkoff’s participation has been “critical.” Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and his Religious Zionism party, a hardline nationalist party which has opposed previous attempts at a deal, said all its members would oppose a deal that didn’t achieve Hamas’ “destruction” and the latest proposal endangered Israel’s national security.