A deal for a ceasefire in Gaza that would also see Israeli hostages freed is believed to be close, with Israel and Hamas having expressed optimism that an agreement can be reached after months of deadlock.
The Independent understands that the truce would be an initial 60 days, without a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces. Hamas has consistently called for all Israeli troops to leave Gaza. Israeli forces would likely pull out of city centres in Gaza and the coastal road. It would come after extended intense negotiations to try to end the 14-month war.
Sources briefed on meetings related to the ceasefire, speaking to Reuters, said Mr Netanyahu was expected to travel to Cairo and that a truce deal could be agreed in the coming days.
Late on Tuesday, a statement from Mr Netanyahu’s office said the Israeli prime minister had a meeting with senior military and security officials on Mount Hermon, a strategic plateau just inside Syria. Israeli forces crossed over into the demilitarised zone of Syria’s Golan Heights within hours of the collapse of the Assad regime earlier this month.
Mr Netanyahu issued a statement saying his troops would remain in the buffer zone for the foreseeable future, “until another arrangement is found that ensures Israel’s security”. Mount Hermon is about 10km inside Syria-held territory – it is believed to be the first time a sitting Israeli leader has set foot that far into Syria.
Two Egyptian security sources told Reuters that a meeting was underway in Cairo to work through the remaining points of a Gaza ceasefire, chief among them a Hamas demand for guarantees that any immediate deal would lead to a comprehensive agreement later. The Egyptian sources said they were making progress and felt that Tuesday night could be decisive in setting the next steps.
The conflict in Gaza was triggered by an attack inside Israel by Hamas on 7 October last year, during which around 1,200 Israelis were killed, and another 251 people were taken hostage. Israel’s retaliatory war from land and air, alongside a blockade, has killed 45,000 Palestinians, the majority women and children, according to health authorities inside the besieged territory. Around 90 per cent of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been forced from their homes.
Both sides have expressed optimism over an agreement that would bring a phased release of the surviving hostages in Gaza in exchange for a ceasefire and the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. About 60 living hostages, mainly Israelis, are believed to be still in captivity in Gaza as well as the bodies of 35 others.
The US has also said that a deal is getting closer, White House national security communications adviser John Kirby told Fox News.
“We believe – and the Israelis have said this – that we’re getting closer, and no doubt about it, we believe that, but we also are cautious in our optimism,” Mr Kirby said. “We’ve been in this position before where we weren’t able to get it over the finish line.”
He did not respond when asked if Mr Netanyahu would travel to Cairo to take part in the talks.
The US, Qatar and Egypt, who are leading mediation efforts, have in recent weeks described a greater willingness by both sides to wrap up a deal. Hamas officials said they were prepared to show more “flexibility” on the timing of an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, which was viewed as a key concession, the AP news agency reported.
In a statement on Tuesday, Hamas said a ceasefire and hostages deal was possible if Israel stops setting new conditions and that talks were “serious and positive”.
A senior Palestinian official involved in the negotiations earlier told the BBC that talks had reached a “decisive and final phase”.
Israeli defence minister Israel Katz has also said that an agreement is closer than ever. According to his spokesperson, Mr Katz told members of the Israeli parliament’s foreign affairs committee on Monday: “We have not been this close to an agreement on the hostages since the previous deal,” referring to an exchange of hostages and Palestinian prisoners in Israel in November 2023.
He has since written on X: “My position on Gaza is clear. After we defeat Hamas’s military and governmental power in Gaza, Israel will have security control over Gaza with full freedom of action,” comparing this to the situation in the occupied West Bank.
“We will not allow any terrorist activity against Israeli communities and Israeli citizens from Gaza. We will not allow a return to the reality of before 7 October.”
The Palestinian official told the BBC a three-phase plan would see civilians and women soldiers still held hostage in Gaza released in the first 45 days. According to previous claims by Egyptian and Hamas officials, the agreement would also include a surge in aid.
The outgoing Biden administration in the US and the incoming administration of Donald Trump have both signalled they wanted a deal complete before the inauguration on 20 January.
On the ground in Gaza, huge Israeli airstrikes killed extended families in homes in two parts of the northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, while tanks in the south pushed towards the Mediterranean coast, forcing displaced families to take flight again.
Medics inside Gaza said at least 10 people were confirmed killed in an airstrike on a house in the Daraj suburb of Gaza City that destroyed the building and damaged nearby houses. Further north, in the town of Beit Lahiya which has been under Israeli siege since early October, at least 15 people were believed to be dead or missing under the rubble of a house hit by an airstrike around dawn, said medics. Rescuers were unable to reach the site to confirm the toll.
At least 10 other Palestinians were killed in separate strikes elsewhere in Gaza City and Beit Lahiya, medics said.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the reports of airstrikes. Israel says it targets Hamas and other militants and blames any harm to civilians on Hamas for operating among them. Hamas denies this.
Reuters contributed to this report
