Palestinians, who were injured in Israeli attacks, are taken to hospital for treatment in Gaza City on Monday. MAHMOUD ISSA/GETTY IMAGES
DOHA/CAIRO — Qatar says Israel and Hamas are at the "closest point" yet to agreeing on a cease-fire in Gaza and the release of dozens of hostages.
Qatar's Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said at a weekly briefing on Tuesday that the ongoing negotiations are positive and productive, while declining to get into the details of the sensitive talks.
Qatar has been a key mediator with Hamas in over a year of indirect talks and is currently hosting the negotiations.
On Monday, an official briefed on the negotiations said a "breakthrough" was made in talks attended by envoys of both US President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump.
Hamas said the talks had reached the final steps and that it hoped the talks in Doha would lead to a "clear and comprehensive agreement".
Meanwhile, according to two officials involved in the talks on Tuesday, Hamas has accepted a draft agreement for the cease-fire and the release of dozens of hostages.
An Israeli official said progress has been made, but the details are being finalized.
If successful, the cease-fire deal would cap over a year of stop-start talks and lead to the biggest release of Israeli hostages since the early days of the conflict, when Hamas freed about half of its prisoners in exchange for 240 Palestinian detainees held by Israel.
That in turn could ease tensions across the wider Middle East, where the conflict has fuelled conflict in the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq, and raised fears of all-out conflict between Israel and Iran.
An Israeli official said the deal's first stage would see the release of 33 hostages, including children, some female soldiers, men above 50, and the wounded and sick. Israel would gradually and partially withdraw some of its forces.
The Palestinian source said Israel would free 1,000 Palestinian prisoners during the first phase, which would last for 60 days.
Israel launched its assault in Gaza after Hamas fighters stormed across its borders in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages.
Fighting has meanwhile raged on, focused in recent months on Gaza's northern edge where Israel says its forces are trying to prevent Hamas from regrouping and Palestinians say the Israelis are trying to permanently depopulate a buffer zone.
Health officials in the Gaza Strip said on Tuesday that Israeli strikes killed at least 27 Palestinians in the past day, including one journalist.
Part of a missile reportedly fired from Yemen is lodged on the roof of a house in the Israeli village of Mevo Beitar west of Jerusalem on Tuesday. MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP
Wider conflict
The fighting has already upended a wider region of the Middle East.
A missile fired by Yemen's Houthi forces targeted central Israel early on Tuesday, causing sirens to blare and people to flee into bomb shelters.
The Israeli military said it made several attempts to intercept a missile launched from Yemen and "the missile was likely intercepted." The Magen David Adom emergency service in Israel said there were no injuries from the missile or falling debris, but some people suffered injuries when running to shelters.
Israeli police said several homes outside Jerusalem were damaged by fallen debris and released a photo of what appeared to be a missile casing on the roof of a house. Israel's military also said an earlier missile was intercepted before it entered Israeli territory.
Figures released by the Israeli military earlier this month indicated that Houthi forces have launched about 40 surface-to-surface missiles and 320 drones toward Israel since October 2023. Most of them were intercepted, the figures showed.
Experts have warned that the maritime security situation has evolved into a more complex challenge than initially anticipated.
"The current trajectory suggests we may witness a broader regional conflict," said Yemeni military observer Abu Al-Badreen.
Agencies - Xinhua
