Ibrahim Khazen
14 January 2025•Update: 15 January 2025
DOHA, Qatar
Palestinian resistance group Hamas said Tuesday that a Gaza cease-fire and prisoner swap agreement is in “its final stages.”
In a statement, Hamas underlined the need “to continue consultations with Palestinian faction leaders until the agreement is finalized.”
The Palestinian group said it held a series of consultations with faction leaders “to update them on the progress made in the ongoing negotiations in Doha.”
The faction leaders stressed the importance of "comprehensive national preparedness for the upcoming phase and its requirements,” Hamas said, without giving details.
According to the statement, the faction leaders expressed hope that this round of negotiations would conclude with "a clear and comprehensive agreement.”
The Popular Resistance Committee, another Palestinian group, confirmed that Hamas had briefed it about efforts by Egyptian and Qatari mediators to finalize the anticipated agreement for a Gaza cease-fire and hostage swap.
"We are satisfied with the significant and positive progress made so far in completing the first phase and its requirements,” it said in a statement.
The group hoped these efforts “will culminate in fulfilling the agreed terms, leading to a final cease-fire and obligating the (Israeli) enemy to comply under the guarantees of the mediators."
Qatar said early Tuesday that Gaza cease-fire negotiations are in their "final details" and that announcing an agreement is “imminent.”
“A draft agreement has been handed to both Hamas and Israel and major obstacles on key contentious issues between the two sides have been addressed,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari told a press conference in Doha.
Palestinian sources earlier said that a Gaza cease-fire and prisoner exchange deal is “nearly ready” and could be signed by Friday.
The sources, speaking to Anadolu on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the talks, said that progress had been made to finalize the agreement.
On Monday, the Israeli public broadcaster KAN said that the Israeli Security Cabinet might convene on Tuesday to approve the agreement.
Israel has continued its war on Gaza, which has killed more than 46,600 people, most of them women and children, since a Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.
In November 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala
