Qatar: Gaza ceasefire negotiations at ‘final stages’ but people should not get ‘over-excited’ about progress
Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari has said his country believes ceasefire and hostage release negotiations between Israel and Hamas are “at the final stages” but cautioned that people “shouldn’t be over-excited about what’s happening right now.”
Speaking in Doha in English during a bilingual press conference, he said: “It is very important not to raise expectations to a level that doesn’t link to what’s happening on the ground right now.
“We are, we do believe, at a developed stage. We do believe we are at the final stages. But obviously, until there is an announcement, there will be no announcement, and therefore we shouldn’t be over-excited about what’s happening right now.”
Al-Ansari made a point of thanking representatives of both the Biden administration and the incoming Trump administration from the US who are participating in talks, and said “the meetings that have taken place here in Doha are productive. They are positive, and we hope to hear some developments.”
The foreign ministry spokesperson then reiterated Qatar’s longstanding position on the conflict, saying
Obviously, we have said this for months. This war should have been over a long time ago. The humanitarian cost of the ongoing war is unbearable and continues to be unbearable for the people of Gaza and for the stability and security of this region.
And therefore, we again say and call on both parties to seriously engage in the negotiations, which are happening right now – and we do applaud the fact that the negotiations are taking place – but we also, you know, are urging both sides to end this now and sign the agreement as soon as possible, so … both the hostages and prisoners can get back to their families and life in this region, and stability in this region.
Key events
Associated Press reports it has seen a copy of the draft agreement between Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire and hostage release deal, and that officials from Egypt and Hamas confirmed its authenticity on condition of anonymity.
The news agency outlines the deal as follows:
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Phase one, lasting 42 days, would see the gradual release of 33 of the remaining hostages, and Israeli forces would withdraw from population centres in Gaza, alongside a “surge” in humanitarian aid
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Negotiations for phase two would take place during this period, with the aim of releasing all the remaining male captives and the “complete withdrawal” of Israeli forces from Gaza
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A third phase would see the reutrn of the bodies of hostages killed in Gaza since their abduction on 7 October 2023, and the setting up of a rebuilding plan and new governance structure for Gaza
It has been a busy day for protest outside the Knesset in Jerusalem. Earlier relatives and supporters of Israelis held hostage by Hamas and other groups in Gaza since 7 October 2023 gathered demanding a deal to secure their release.
There has also been a protest march over the planned Benjamin Netanyahu government legislation on conscription for ultra-Orthodox men, which has been a controversial political issue in Israel for months.
The march was led, Haaretz reports, by Laly Deri, the mother of an IDF soldier who was killed in Gaza during the current conflict. The protest is against government plans to delay the implementation of expanded conscription laws that would see ultra-Orthodox men serve in the IDF, ending a previous exemption on religious grounds.
Haaretz quotes Deri saying “We need our brothers with us. This is a fight for survival,” adding that protests would continue “until the stretcher we all carry expands and grows, with more communities joining in carrying it, not only from our ultra-Orthodox brothers, but from all sectors of Israeli society.”
This picture shows part of a missile, believed to have been fired by Houthi forces in Yemen, lodged in the roof of a house in the Israeli village of Mevo Beitar, which is to the south-west of Jerusalam.
Reuters is carrying some response from officials on both sides of ceasefire and hostage release negotiations. It quotes an official from Israel saying anonymously “We are close, we are not there,” while Hamas has said talks have reached their final stage, stating that the group was looking for a clear and inclusive deal.
At least 24 Palestinians killed by Israeli strikes on Gaza since dawn – reports
Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, states that at least 24 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli strikes on Gaza since dawn.
He reports:
Most recently, a residential building was hit in the city of Khan Younis, causing dozens of reported casualties. They are being transferred to Nasser hospital.
Civilians, in this time preceding a possible ceasefire deal, are doing everything they can to avoid areas that may have some type of military presence, but they report being trapped by quadcopter drones.
Al Jazeera has been banned from operating inside Israel by Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, and the Palestinian Authority in the Israeli-occupied West Bank has also closed Al Jazeera operations there.
As of 13 January, preliminary investigations by the Committee to Protect Journalists showed at least 160 journalists and media workers were among those killed in Gaza, the occupied West Bank, Israel, and Lebanon since 7 October 2023.
It has not been possible for journalists to independently verify the casualty figures being issued during the conflict.
Qatar: statements from Biden and Trump have contributed to improved prospects for peace deal in Gaza
Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson has said that recent statements by both president Joe Biden and president-elect Donald Trump have contributed to the improved prospects of a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza.
During his press conference in Doha, Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson was asked what has made a ceasefire deal more likely now, and specifically if the prospect of the incoming second Trump administration in the US had made a difference.
Majed Al-Ansari told reporters “That is a question I would like to answer after announcing that there is an agreement.”
He said he would rather rephrase it and answer the question “why are we more optimistic right now?”
He continued:
So the main reason why we are more optimistic right now is during the past months there were underlying issues, major issues between the two parties [Israel and Hamas] unresolved.
These issues were resolved during the talks in the past couple of weeks, and therefore we have reached a point where the major issues that were preventing a deal from happening were addressed, and we have language pertaining to this issue that has been distributed between both parties.
We especially appreciate the roles of both the Biden administration and the incoming Trump administration in the talks in the past couple of weeks, they have been involved fully in the talks. They were working in tandem together here in Doha and beyond in the region to make sure that the deal happens.
And we appreciate statements by both president Biden and president-elect Trump that were helpful in pushing the deal forward.
Qatar: Gaza ceasefire negotiations at ‘final stages’ but people should not get ‘over-excited’ about progress
Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari has said his country believes ceasefire and hostage release negotiations between Israel and Hamas are “at the final stages” but cautioned that people “shouldn’t be over-excited about what’s happening right now.”
Speaking in Doha in English during a bilingual press conference, he said: “It is very important not to raise expectations to a level that doesn’t link to what’s happening on the ground right now.
“We are, we do believe, at a developed stage. We do believe we are at the final stages. But obviously, until there is an announcement, there will be no announcement, and therefore we shouldn’t be over-excited about what’s happening right now.”
Al-Ansari made a point of thanking representatives of both the Biden administration and the incoming Trump administration from the US who are participating in talks, and said “the meetings that have taken place here in Doha are productive. They are positive, and we hope to hear some developments.”
The foreign ministry spokesperson then reiterated Qatar’s longstanding position on the conflict, saying
Obviously, we have said this for months. This war should have been over a long time ago. The humanitarian cost of the ongoing war is unbearable and continues to be unbearable for the people of Gaza and for the stability and security of this region.
And therefore, we again say and call on both parties to seriously engage in the negotiations, which are happening right now – and we do applaud the fact that the negotiations are taking place – but we also, you know, are urging both sides to end this now and sign the agreement as soon as possible, so … both the hostages and prisoners can get back to their families and life in this region, and stability in this region.
Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Majed Al-Ansari, is currently giving his weekly briefing, in which he is speaking about prospects for a ceasefire deal in Gaza. We will bring you the key lines as they emerge.
Here are some of the latest images sent over the news wires from Gaza.
Lebanon’s National News Agency reports that Israeli forces are operating to the west of Meiss El Jabal. It states they are “raiding and storming residential homes” and continues:
They are also carrying out searches, vandalism, scattering contents and burning some of them. Limited explosions, machine gun fire and the movement of vehicles and tanks is also being recorded.
The claims have not been independently verified. Meiss El Jabal is adjacent to the UN-drawn blue line which separates Israel and Lebanon.
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has reacted to the statement earlier by far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir that he will quit the government if a ceasefire and hostage release deal is agreed with Hamas.
Ben-Gvir claimed in his statement that “through our political power, we have managed to prevent this deal from happening, time after time.” [See 9.13 GMT]
In a post to social media, Lapid said:
For a year I’ve been saying “We [Israel] aren’t making a deal to release the hostages for political reasons” and everyone tells me that it can’t be, and it is shocking, and how could I say such a thing. Today Ben-Gvir released a video and told, to the camera, without blinking, the terrible truth.
Palestinian media reports that overnight Israeli security forces have detained 35 people in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Wafa states that “the arrests were distributed across the governorates of Nablus, Salfit, Jenin, Tulkarm and Hebron.”
The far-right Israeli national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has described the prospective of a ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas as “terrible”, and called on Israel’s finance minister Bezalel Smotrich to join him in opposing it.
In a lengthy post to social media, Ben-Gvir said doing a deal would “erase the war achievements that have been achieved with much blood by our fighters, so far, in the Gaza Strip.”
He said that withdrawing his support from the government would not topple Benjamin Netanyahu or prevent the deal alone, hence calling for Smotrich to join him.
Ben-Gvir also appeared to claim having prevented previous attempts to agree a ceasefire, saying “over the past year, through our political power, we have managed to prevent this deal from coming to fruition, time after time.”
In a statement overnight on its official Telegram channel, Israel’s military said that warning sirens sounding in the moshav of Netiv HaAsara had been “determined to be a false identification.”
The moshav is directly on the northern border of Gaza’s territory.
Deal ‘very close’ says Donald Trump
On Monday night, Donald Trump described a possible ceasefire as being “very close.”
“I understand … there’s been a handshake and they are getting it finished – and maybe by the end of the week,” Trump told the American cable channel Newsmax Monday night.
He added that part of the deal would see “bodies” brought out of the Gaza Strip, without elaborating.
An Israeli official said negotiations were in advanced stages for the release of 33 of 98 hostages still in Gaza, in the first stage of the deal, according to Reuters. Among those 33 would be children, women, female soldiers, men above 50, and the wounded and sick. It would also mean a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces.
In return, Israel will free 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, according to the Palestinian source close to the talks who said the first phase would last for 60 days.
Israel launched its assault in Gaza after Hamas fighters stormed across its borders on 7 October 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Negotiators to meet today and hope to finalise plan to end war
Negotiators are to meet in Doha today to finalise details of a plan to end the war in Gaza after Joe Biden indicated a ceasefire and hostage release deal was imminent.
Mediators gave Israel and Hamas a final draft of an agreement on Monday, an official briefed on the negotiations told Reuters, after a midnight “breakthrough” in talks attended by envoys of both Biden and President-elect Donald Trump.
A Palestinian source close to the talks told Reuters he expected the deal to be finalised on Tuesday if “all goes well.”
David Barnea, director of Israel’s spy service Mossad, Ronen Bar director of Israel’s Shin Bet internal security, Steve Witkoff, Trump’s incoming Middle East envoy; Brett McGurk, Biden’s outgoing Middle East envoy and Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani were hoping to forge the deal.
“The deal … would free the hostages, halt the fighting, provide security to Israel and allow us to significantly surge humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians who suffered terribly in this war that Hamas started,” Biden said on Monday.
Hopes rise for ceasefire and hostage release deal despite Israeli strikes in Gaza
Welcome to our live coverage of the crisis in the Middle East. It is nearly 10.30am in Gaza City and Jerusalem.
Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip killed at least 18 people overnight, including six women and four children, health officials said, as Israel and Hamas appeared to be coming closer to a ceasefire deal to end the 15-month war and release dozens of hostages.
Earlier in Washington, US president Joe Biden said that the contours of the deal matched a “proposal that I laid out in detail months ago”. The deal comes less than a week before the inauguration of Donald Trump as Biden’s successor.
There have been intensifying indirect negotiations in Qatar attended by Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff.
Israel and Hamas have been holding indirect talks for more than a year mediated by Qatar, the US and Egypt but they have previously stalled over issues including the exchange of hostages for Palestinians held in Israeli jails, whether a ceasefire is permanent and the extent of the withdrawal of Israeli troops.
Just one brief ceasefire has been achieved in the conflict so far, in the earliest months of fighting.
Other developments include:
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Gaza’s civil defence agency reported that a wave of Israeli airstrikes killed more than 50 people in the Palestinian territory’s main city on Monday. Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said the strikes pounded Gaza City throughout the day, hitting “schools, homes and even gatherings of people”. “There is no room in hospitals to receive the wounded,” Bassal told AFP. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) did not immediately comment on the claims.
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The IDF said five soldiers had been killed in fighting in northern Gaza, bringing to nine the number of its troops killed since Saturday.
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Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels meanwhile fired a missile at central Israel, setting off sirens and sending people fleeing to shelters without causing any casualties. Police said Tuesday several homes were damaged outside Jerusalem and released a photo of a missile casing that had crashed into a roof.
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An Israeli lawyer has filed submissions to the international criminal court (ICC) alleging incitement to genocide against Palestinians by eight Israeli officials, including President Isaac Herzog and prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
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Wafa, the Palestinian news agency, said at least five people were killed in the bombing of the Salah al-Din school in Gaza City, which was housing displaced Palestinian people.
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At least 46,584 Palestinian people have been killed and 109,731 injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza since 7 October 2023, the Gaza health ministry said in its latest update. At least 19 Palestinians were killed in the last 24 hours, the ministry said.