Trump: There's been a handshake; deal possible by end of week

Israeli officials: Deal will see 33 hostages freed in 1st stage, most of them alive

Negotiations to free remaining captives to begin on 16th day of potential ceasefire deal; talks advanced after ‘tense’ meeting between Netanyahu, Trump envoy, officials tell ToI

Protesters call for the release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, outside the IDF's Kirya headquarters in Tel Aviv, January 13, 2025. (Itai Ron/Flash90)
Protesters call for the release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, outside the IDF's Kirya headquarters in Tel Aviv, January 13, 2025. (Itai Ron/Flash90)

Israeli diplomatic officials said on Monday evening that Israel was in the “advanced stages of the negotiations” with Hamas for a ceasefire deal that would see the terror group release some of the hostages it has been holding in Gaza since October 7, 2023, and ending more than 15 months of war.

Briefing military and diplomatic reporters, the officials said there had been progress in the talks in Doha, which are being coordinated by mediator countries Qatar and Egypt and the outgoing and incoming US administrations, but stressed that “the deal is not finalized.”

According to the Israeli officials, the progress in the negotiations came as a result of the fall of the Iranian-led Axis in the Middle East, with the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria and the defeat of Hezbollah in Lebanon, which led to more pressure on Hamas.

The officials also said that pressure and threats from incoming US President-elect Donald Trump had helped bring Hamas to the table, and they stressed that Israel was working with both teams, including Biden envoy Brett McGurk and Trump official Steve Witkoff, and that the administrations were also coordinating with each other.

The officials said that the first stage of the potential deal would see Hamas release 33 “humanitarian” hostages — children, women, female soldiers, the elderly and the sick. Israel believes most of the 33 are alive but that some are dead, the officials said. They noted that Jerusalem has not yet received any confirmation of their status.

If the first stage is carried out, then on the 16th day of the deal coming into effect, Israel will begin negotiations on a second stage to free the remaining captives — male soldiers and men of military age — and the bodies of slain hostages, the officials said.

Demonstrators protest calling for the release of Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip outside IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv, January 13, 2025. (Itai Ron/Flash90)

They denied a report from earlier on Monday that claimed that the first Israeli hostages would only be released a week into the ceasefire taking effect.

It is believed that 94 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the IDF.

Israel holding significant ‘assets’ as leverage for the second stage

The officials said that Israel was holding onto significant “assets,” including high-profile terrorists and territory in the Gaza Strip, to use as leverage in the second stage of negotiations to “ensure that every hostage is returned home.”

Under the complete ceasefire agreement, Israel will withdraw from most areas of the Gaza Strip and release large numbers of Palestinian security prisoners, including terrorists who carried out deadly attacks. High-profile “murderer” terrorists will not be released to the West Bank under the deal, the officials said, and nobody who took part in the October 7 Hamas onslaught will be freed, the officials said.

Unconfirmed reports have indicated that some 150-200 “murderer” terrorists would be freed, and that they would not be allowed to return to the West Bank, but, rather, would go to Gaza, and possibly to Egypt, Turkey, and Qatar.

The Saudi TV station al-Hadath reported that Israel had sent Hamas a list of names of hundreds of Palestinian security prisoners potentially to be released, and that Marwan Barghouti, the jailed Intifada leader, who is serving multiple life terms for murder, was not among them. The report was not confirmed, and the Justice Ministry said it had not been asked to compile lists of security prisoners to be freed.

An Israeli official said late Monday that Jerusalem would not return the body of Yahya Sinwar, the architect of Hamas’s October 7 invasion, who was killed by Israeli troops in Rafah in October, after the Saudi outlet Al-Hadath published an unconfirmed report that Hamas was demanding the body of its former leader in the first stage of the deal. “It will not happen. Period,” the official said in a statement.

Inside an IDF forward operating base in the Netzarim Corridor in the central Gaza Strip, December 26, 2024. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)

The officials said that IDF troops would remain in a new buffer zone inside Gaza to better defend Israeli border communities.

Israel will not completely withdraw from Gaza until the war’s goals are achieved, among them the return of all the hostages, they said.

During the period between the two stages, Israel will continue to hold the Philadelphi Corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border, and there will be “security arrangements” for Palestinian civilians in southern Gaza seeking to return to the Strip’s north, according to the officials.

A different official briefed on the negotiations told Reuters on Monday that another round of talks would be held in Doha on Tuesday morning to finalize the remaining details related to the deal.

A deal to end the Gaza war is “closer than it’s ever been,” the official said, adding that US envoys Witkoff and McGurk, along with Mossad chief David Barnea and Shin Bet head Ronen Bar, were expected to attend.

Qatari emir, US president work the phones as deal looks close

On Monday, Qatar’s ruler Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani held meetings with both US Middle East envoys, according to a statement from his office, during which they “reviewed developments in the Gaza Strip… as well as the latest developments in the ceasefire negotiations.”

US President Joe Biden also held a phone call on the hostage negotiations on Monday with the Qatari emir, in another indication that a deal was on the verge of being reached.

“Both leaders emphasized the urgent need for a deal,” the White House said in its readout, adding that Biden thanked the emir for Qatar’s efforts in mediating between Israel and Hamas.

Demonstrators protest against the Israeli government and for the release of the hostages held in the Gaza Strip, outside the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv, January 11, 2025. (Itai Ron/Flash90)

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Biden was also scheduled to speak with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi later on Monday. He discussed the developments with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by telephone on Sunday.

Later on Monday, in his capstone foreign policy address at the State Department, Biden said “we’re on the brink” of the hostage deal proposal he laid out in May “finally coming to fruition.”

“I have learned from my many years of public service to never, never, never, ever give up,” he said, adding that 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.”

“The Palestinian people deserve peace and the right to determine their own futures. Israel deserves peace and real security, and the hostages and their families deserve to be reunited. So we’re working urgently to close this deal,” Biden said.

US President Joe Biden speaks at the State Department in Washington, DC, on January 13, 2025, as he delivers his final foreign policy speech. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP)

The diplomatic push came as Netanyahu convened a consultation with the heads of the security establishment, according to Hebrew media reports.

The Ynet news site reported that among the topics discussed was when to bring the hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas up for approval by all the members of the government.

The deal would apparently require approval by the security cabinet and by the government, but not a Knesset vote. The deal would likely attain majority support within the government even if both Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s far-right parties were to vote against it, which both have threatened to do.

Hebrew media reported that Netanyahu was planning to meet with Ben Gvir on Monday evening to gauge his reaction to the possible deal. The far-right minister was also reportedly convening his Otzma Yehudit faction later on Monday in a bid to formulate a response.

Were Smotrich’s and Ben Gvir’s parties to bolt the coalition, Netanyahu would lose his governing majority. Opposition leader Yair Lapid confirmed on Monday he would provide Netanyahu with a parliamentary “safety net” to advance the deal if necessary.

Talks advanced after ‘tense’ meeting between Netanyahu, Trump envoy

Two officials familiar with the latest ceasefire push told The Times of Israel on Monday that Trump’s Mideast envoy held a “tense” meeting with Netanyahu on Saturday, during which the former leaned hard on the Israeli premier to accept compromises necessary to secure a hostage deal by the January 20 US presidential inauguration.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets US President-elect Donald Trump’s Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff at his office in Jerusalem, January 11, 2025. (Prime Minister’s Office Spokesperson)

Witkoff’s pressure on Netanyahu appeared to have had an effect, with the two officials familiar with the negotiations saying that key gaps were filled in the talks over the weekend.

Spokespeople for Witkoff and Netanyahu did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the matter.

US national security adviser: ‘Gaps fundamentally narrowed on key issues’

Meanwhile, Sullivan told reporters on Monday that “formulas” regarding the release of Palestinian security prisoners and the withdrawal of IDF troops from Gaza had been the main sticking points in hostage talks over the past several months and that the narrowing of disagreements on those issues had brought the sides to the brink of a deal.

“We are close to a deal, and it can get done this week,” he said, adding, “I cannot predict that it will… and if in five days it hasn’t happened, I will be the person who is probably least shocked by that.”

Asked whether all seven Americans still being held hostage in Gaza will be released in the first phase of the deal, Sullivan declined to answer but said that the release of all US citizens was a top priority of the outgoing and incoming administrations.

People attend a rally calling for the release of Israelis held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, at Central Park in New York City, on January 12, 2025. (Arie Leib Abrams/ Flash90)

Also Monday, a Turkish security source said that Ankara’s intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin spoke by phone with officials from Hamas’s political bureau on the ceasefire talks.

The discussion focused on “the progress made in the negotiations and the current status,” the source said in a statement, adding that the sides agreed to “resume efforts toward achieving a ceasefire.”

Among the reports swirling in Arab media on Monday, Saudi TV station al-Hadath reported that Israel had sent Hamas a list of names of hundreds of Palestinian security prisoners to be released in the potential deal.

The station reported that while some of the prisoners on the list are serving life sentences, jailed Intifada leader Marwan Barghouti was not among them.

A Hamas official, who refused to be named, told the Qatari al-Araby al-Jadeed newspaper that the terror group was set to meet on Monday evening to discuss the latest proposal and that its response would be “positive” if there were no compromises on what the terror group calls “fundamental points.”

Earlier on Monday, Israeli officials denied a report by Saudi outlet Al Arabiya that the terror group had already responded, without reservations.

During an interview with the Newsmax network later in the day, Trump was asked to update the public on the negotiations.

“We are very close to getting it done. They have to get it done. If they don’t get it done, there’s going to be a lot of trouble out there — a lot of trouble like they have never seen before. They will get it done,” Trump said, replacing his previous threat of “hell” in the Middle East with “trouble.”

“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,” he said.

Ministries reportedly told to prepare to absorb released hostages in coming days

Also amid the buildup, Channel 12 news reported that two government ministries had been told to prepare to absorb released hostages in the coming days.

The Hostages, Missing Persons and Returnees Directorate of the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement it was “routinely prepared” for any hostage deal.

A Red Cross convoy carrying Israeli hostages heads to Egypt from the Gaza Strip in Rafah, Nov. 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Hatem Ali)

“In recent weeks, the Directorate has carried out a number of preparedness exercises for various scenarios, in partnership with the relevant government offices and other professional bodies, and has ensured that they are ready to take care of the returnees and their families,” the statement said.

“Media outlets and the public are requested to respect the privacy of the families in this complicated time,” the statement added, noting that the office is in “continuous contact” with the hostages’ relatives.

Hamas released 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November, and four hostages were released before that. Eight hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 40 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the military as they tried to escape their captors.

Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.

Agencies and Lazar Berman contributed to this report contributed to this report.

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