Final talks resume in Doha; Palestinian source says deal could be clinched today ‘if all goes well’

Negotiators are meeting in Qatar hoping to finalize details of a plan to end the war in Gaza, after US President Joe Biden indicated a ceasefire and hostage release deal was imminent.

Mediators had given Israel and Hamas a final draft of an agreement yesterday, an official briefed on the negotiations said, after a “breakthrough” in talks in Doha attended by envoys of both Biden and US President-elect Donald Trump.

A Palestinian source close to the talks tells Reuters he expects the deal to be finalized on Tuesday if “all goes well.”

Trump’s incoming Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Biden’s envoy Brett McGurk have both attended the talks hosted by Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. Israel is represented by David Barnea, director of spy service Mossad, and Ronen Bar, director of the Shin Bet internal security agency.