Mediator Qatar has handed Israel and Hamas a “final” draft of a ceasefire and hostage release agreement designed to end the war in Gaza, an official briefed on the negotiations tells Reuters.
A breakthrough was reached in Doha after midnight following talks between Israel’s negotiating team, US President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy and Qatar’s prime minister, the official says.
The war in Gaza was sparked by the devastating attack by Hamas-led terrorists on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Ninety-four 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.
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 Israeli 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.
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From the Liveblog of
Monday, January 13, 2025
