Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal ‘on the brink of fruition’

Washington: US President Joe Biden said a deal that will secure the release of hostages and achieve a ceasefire in Gaza was on the brink of coming to fruition, adding that his administration was working urgently to close the agreement.

Shortly before Biden’s comment, made as part of his last foreign policy speech before leaving office, the Hamas delegation in Doha said the ceasefire talks were progressing well with the group dealing with developments in a positive manner, it said in a statement following a meeting with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.

The London Telegraph, citing confidential sources, said there had been a “breakthrough” following talks between Qatar’s prime minister, Israel’s intelligence chiefs and US president-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy.

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“We are not sure if it is hours or days or more,” one Israeli source told The Telegraph, as the White House said negotiators were “on the cusp” of an agreement. The publication said it had learnt “Israel is willing to withdraw its troops from Gaza when all hostages have been released under a ceasefire deal with Hamas”.

More to come

Reuters, with reporter