What is the status of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the hostage negotiations?

Israel and Hamas are nearing an agreement to declare a ceasefire in Gaza and release hostages held there after more than 15 months of war, the Qatari government said on Tuesday.

If a deal is reached, it would bring some respite to Palestinians in Gaza, who have endured squalid conditions in displacement camps and relentless bombing by Israel, and to the families of hostages taken from Israel in a Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023.

For months, repeated rounds of talks had raised hopes only to be dashed days later, with Israel and Hamas blaming each other for the stalemate. In recent weeks, negotiations have been driven by a deadline: the end of President Joe Biden’s term and the Jan. 20 inauguration of President-elect Donald J. Trump.

How close is the deal?

On Monday, President Biden suggested a deal between Israel and Hamas was imminent, saying the sides were “on the verge” of reaching an agreement.

President-elect Donald Trump said during an interview with Newsmax on Monday, “We’re very close to doing it, and they have to do it. If they don’t do it, there will be a lot of problems.”

He continued: “I understand that – it is, it was – there was a handshake and they are finalizing it. And maybe by the end of the week.”

A Hamas official said in a text message the same day that progress had been made on all issues and that a deal was possible in the coming days as long as Israel did not change its position at the last minute.

Earlier on Monday, two Israeli officials said the draft agreement was awaiting Hamas approval.

Other Israeli officials said the optimal conditions for an agreement had been created, making a breakthrough possible. These officials said the emerging deal would allow Israel to maintain a buffer zone in Gaza during its implementation, and that Israeli forces would not leave the territory until all hostages were freed.

They also said it would allow displaced Palestinians in southern Gaza to return to the north while unspecified “security arrangements” are implemented.

A Hamas official, a diplomat and Israeli officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy.

Who are the negotiators?

• The main mediators in the talks are Qatar and Egypt, which relay messages between Israel and Hamas. Qatar’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani, and Egypt’s Director of General Intelligence, Major General Hassan Rashad, were the top officials representing their countries in the talks.

• Israel’s chief negotiators are David Barnea, head of the foreign intelligence service, Mossad, along with Ronen Bar, head of the Shin Bet domestic security service, and Major General Nitzan Alon of the Israeli army. Ophir Falk, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s foreign policy adviser, also participated in important meetings related to the negotiations.

• Khalil al-Hayya, a senior Hamas official based in Doha, is the militant group’s chief negotiator and has held talks with Qatari and Egyptian officials about the details of a possible deal.

• For the United States, Bill Burns, the CIA director, and Brett McGurk, a senior White House official, crisscrossed the Middle East, seeking progress in the talks. Steve Witkoff, Mr. Trump’s Middle East envoy, also traveled to Qatar and Israel, meeting with top officials there.

What are they negotiating about?

Israeli officials hope to secure the release of at least some of the roughly 100 hostages still being held in Gaza since the October 2023 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that sparked the war.

Hamas leaders want to end the Israeli offensive, which has severely weakened the group’s armed wing and government, displaced nearly two million people and reduced cities to rubble. Hamas officials also said they were demanding a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the return of displaced people from the south of the enclave to the north, the bringing in of reconstruction materials and freedom for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. On Monday, Hamas said in a statement that Palestinian prisoners would soon be freed.

The sides have long been discussing a three-phase deal that Arab and American officials hope will lead to an end to the war. But Israeli officials said Monday that the deal could have only two phases, with negotiations on the details of the second phase starting on the 16th day of the first phase.

What are the biggest obstacles?

The main obstacle to the success of the negotiations was the durability of the ceasefire. While Hamas demanded a comprehensive end to the war, Mr. Netanyahu said he wanted a “partial” deal that would allow Israel to continue the war after the hostages are freed.

Israel demanded vague language in the text of the agreement that leaves room for continued fighting at some point, according to a Palestinian familiar with the matter and two Israeli officials. Mr. Netanyahu feared that his right-wing coalition partners could topple his government and threaten his political future if he agreed to a deal to end the war, analysts said.

In a post on X on Monday, Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s finance minister, described the “emerging deal” as a “disaster for Israel’s national security” and said he would not support it.

Hamas has not suggested that it would be willing to compromise on its demand to end the war. Osama Hamdan, a senior Hamas official, told a rally in Algeria last week that there must be an “absolute end to aggression.”

Another hurdle was how far Israel would be allowed to conduct military operations in Gaza in the first phase of the deal. Israel wanted the ability to maneuver up to 1.5 kilometers, or about a mile, into the enclave, two Israeli officials and a Palestinian familiar with the matter said. Hamas wanted any incursion to be limited to 500 meters from the border, according to the Palestinian.

Israeli officials, however, now say the new agreement will allow Israel to maintain a buffer zone in Gaza during its implementation and that Israeli forces will not leave the territory until all hostages are freed.

Israel asked Hamas for a list of hostages still alive. Without that, Israeli officials say, there can be no agreement on how many Palestinian prisoners Israel would be willing to release in exchange. As of Sunday morning, Israel had not received such a list, according to an official familiar with the matter.

Last week, Hamas representatives indicated that group approved Israel’s list of 34 hostages who will be released in the first phase of the deal, but it is not specified how many are alive. On Wednesday, Israeli authorities announced that the body of one of the hostages whose name appeared on the list – Youssef Ziyadne, 53, an Arab citizen of Israel – had been found in Gaza.

On Monday, Israeli officials confirmed that the number of hostages to be freed in the first phase was 33 and said they estimated that most of them were alive.

Hamas agreed to Israel’s request to include 11 disputed individuals on the list of hostages to be released in the first phase of the deal. Israel classifies them as civilians, but Hamas considers them soldiers, according to two Israeli officials and a Palestinian. Israel is weighing a request by Hamas to treat the 11 as soldiers who would be exchanged for more Palestinian prisoners than those released as civilian hostages.