Negotiations between Israel and Hamas representatives are continuing in Qatar's capital, Doha, to finalize an agreement on a ceasefire and the release of hostages in the Gaza Strip. A Palestinian official familiar with the talks said that for the first time in the war, representatives of Israel and Hamas were holding indirect talks in the same building, the BBC reported.
Hamas is also said to have abandoned its conditions for the Israeli army to leave the strip. US President Joe Biden has said that an agreement is on the way to success. An Israeli official also told news agency Reuters that the agreement would be reached in a few hours or days at most.
Donald Trump, who will take over the office of the American president from January 20, has threatened that the situation will be dire if there is no ceasefire agreement.
Biden had a conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday. Similarly, he spoke with Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani of Qatar, who is mediating the talks on Monday. According to Palestinian officials, Hamas and Israeli officials held six hours of indirect talks in the same building on Monday.
Israeli media reported that the possible cease-fire agreement will be implemented in three stages. In the first stage, 33 Israeli prisoners held in Gaza will be released . In exchange for that Israel will release 50 Palestinian prisoners for every female soldier and 30 Palestinian prisoners held by Hamas.
Likewise, at the end of the first phase, Israel will completely withdraw troops from the Philadelphia Corridor, the area between Gaza and the Egyptian border. It is said that the second phase of the ceasefire will last for 16 days and the remaining men and soldiers who are imprisoned in Gaza will be released. The third phase of the
agreement will address long-term arrangements, including the establishment of an alternative government in Gaza and plans to rebuild it, according to Azjajira.
