Good morning. Before Israel’s ground invasion of Gaza began three weeks ago, there was talk of a deal to secure the release of some of the 240 hostages taken by Hamas in exchange for a pause in the bombardment of the territory. But the talks failed, and thousands of Palestinians and an unknown number of the hostages have been killed in the weeks since. Now there is growing optimism that a deal is back on.
Yesterday, Joe Biden said that an agreement was almost done; this morning, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh said that officials were “close to reaching a truce agreement”. Al Jazeera quotes another Hamas official who says details will emerge in “the coming hours”. If that happens, it would be the biggest change in the dynamic between Israel and Hamas since 7 October – and some believe that it could even be a vital first step towards a more permanent end to the violence. But the US has also cautioned that until a deal is absolutely final, there is still a chance that it will collapse.
