Israel and Hamas have agreed in principle to a ceasefire and hostage deal, sources say
A draft deal on a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release has been agreed in principle and, if all goes well, will be finalized by Israel and Hamas this week, Arab, US and Israeli officials told CBS News.
If the final details are approved, and the Israeli government also votes to approve shortly thereafter, implementation of the agreement could begin this weekend, US and regional sources said. This means that President Biden has been looking for a long time ceasefire agreement they could come together in the final days of his presidency, with future President-elect Donald Trump overseeing its implementation.
Sources tell CBS News that the parties have begun drafting public statements of success and that hopes are high on all sides.
Reaching an agreement on a ceasefire and the release of hostages
Talks in Doha have been going on for the past few weeks and continued on Tuesday.
Chief advisor Mr. Biden’s Middle East adviser, Brett McGurk, has been in the region for most of the month working to broker a deal, regularly coordinating with Steve Witkoff, who Trump has chosen as special envoy for the Middle East.
Witkoff was in Israel over the weekend for meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Qatari prime minister is scheduled to meet with Mossad director David Barne on Tuesday to help finalize the details of the deal.
While the Biden administration is crafting a detailed plan for the so-called “Day After” Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, its implementation and enforcement would be left to the Trump administration. Privately, US officials acknowledge that this management plan is ambitious and that Trump’s team should help shape the future of Palestinian Gaza and pressure the Netanyahu government and Hamas to abide by the later stages of the deal.
“I think there is increasing pressure for Hamas to agree, and I think Israel has also achieved a large part of its military objectives in Gaza, and so they are in a position to say ‘yes,'” US national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters.
Sullivan said Israel and Hamas have come close to a deal before and things have broken down, but on Monday there was a “general sense that this is moving in the right direction.”
“The question now is can we all seize the moment together and make this happen?” Sullivan said.
“We are in an advanced stage of negotiations,” an Israeli political source told CBS News, saying a deal could be reached within hours or days. “There is progress in all components of the agreement formula.”
What would a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas look like?
On Sunday, President Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by phone about the ongoing negotiations. The White House said the two leaders had discussed a deal based on a deal outlined by Mr. Biden last year.
Agreement presented Israel and Hamas appears to be similar to that deal, according to a copy of the deal from intermediate sources seen by CBS News and a senior Israeli official.
The deal consists of three phases, according to a copy reviewed by CBS News, and each will be negotiated as things move forward.
During the first phase, which would take place during a 42-day ceasefire period, Hamas would release 33 women and children held hostage, as well as hostages over the age of 50. For every woman or child hostage returned to Israel, Israel would release 30 Palestinian women and children from its prisons. Hamas would release all hostages over the age of 50, and Israel would release 30 Palestinian prisoners over the age of 50.
On the first day of that truce, Hamas would release 3 hostages, according to a document seen by CBS News. On the seventh day, Hamas would release 4 hostages. After that, Hamas would release 3 hostages taken from Israel every seven days, starting with the living and then returning the bodies of those who died.
During the hostage and prisoner exchange, there would be a complete ceasefire in Gaza to allow aid to enter, according to the draft seen by CBS News. International humanitarian groups and the United Nations would resume work in Gaza, and the reconstruction of its infrastructure, such as water, electricity and sewage systems, would begin. The next phase of the deal would also be negotiated.
The second phase of the deal would include the release of all Israeli male hostages and the withdrawal of the IDF from Gaza, according to the document seen by CBS News.
The third phase, which would be negotiated in part during the earlier phases, would involve the exchange of the bodies of deceased hostages and prisoners, the beginning of the reconstruction of Gaza and the opening of its borders.
Despite intensive mediation by the United States, Qatar and Egypt, talks have repeatedly stalled over issues including details of hostage and prisoner exchanges, the withdrawal of Israeli forces and whether the ceasefire will be permanent.
Hamas and other groups in Gaza are still holding about 100 hostages kidnapped during the attack on October 7, 2023. The militants killed about 1,200 people and kidnapped 250 in that attack.
More than 46,000 Palestinians in Gaza were killed by Israel in response to the October 7 attack, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, and most of Gaza’s 2.3 residents have been displaced. Aid groups struggled to deliver aid, and experts warned of famine.
Marwan Al-Ghoul, Michal Ben-Gal and Mais Al-Bayaa contributed to this report.
