Hamas has reportedly accepted a hostage deal to free Israeli hostages in return for Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the release of more than 1000 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli custody.
It comes after a breakthrough in negotiations in Doha, where an agreement was reached between Qatari mediators, the Israeli negotiators, and the Middle East envoys of both Joe Biden and Donald Trump.
An official briefed on the negotiations told Reuters on Monday morning that Doha had handed both parties a “final” draft of the proposal, including plans for a ceasefire and the release of the hostages in Gaza.
The militant group issued a statement on Monday confirming that progress has been made: “We renew our pledge with our steadfast and patient people and with our heroic prisoners in the prisons, and we affirm that their freedom is near,” it said.
It follows months of failed talks between the two sides, with each party accusing the other of causing the deadlock.
A source close to the negotiations told the Associated Press that Qatari mediators had put pressure on Hamas to accept the deal, while Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, did the same with the Israeli side.
The deal is similar to the phased proposal put forward by President Joe Biden in May, but which never materialised.
The three-part proposal would begin with a six-week ceasefire and the release of some hostages.
During the first phase, which would last 60 days, 33 hostages would be set free. “Humanitarian” cases, including women, children, men over 50, and the sick, would be released first, in exchange for as many as 1300 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
There would also be a surge of aid into the Strip and IDF soldiers would withdraw.
Negotiations about the second and third phases of the agreement would begin on the 16th day of the ceasefire.
In the second stage of the process, talks would begin on the release of male soldiers and younger male civilians, and the bodies of deceased hostages would be returned, followed by a third stage that would see negotiations on the governance and reconstruction of Gaza.
The chief mediators in the talks were Qatar and Egypt, delivering messages between Hamas and Israel.
Qatari prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani, and the director of Egypt’s General Intelligence Service, Major General Hassan Rashad, have been the senior officials representing their countries in the talks.
Representing Israel was David Barnea, the chief of the Mossad, as well as Ronen Bar, the head of the Shin Bet, a domestic security service, and Major General Nitzan Alon from the military. A foreign policy adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Ophir Falk, has also participated in essential meetings.
Hamas’s chief negotiator was Khalil al-Hayya, a senior figure in the militant group based in Doha.
As of January 10, 98 hostages were held in Gaza, 94 of whom were kidnapped on October 7 2023, and four of whom were captured in 2014, according to the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
Of those hostages, 36 are deceased, including two kidnapped in 2014, Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul.
157 out of the 251 captured by the militant group during the October 7 massacre have been returned or rescued — 117 alive and 40 deceased.
Previous hurdles that blocked former rounds of negotiations were Hamas’s insistence on an IDF withdrawal from the Gaza Strip as a precondition to releasing the hostages, as well as its demand for the release of Palestinians in Israeli prisons that the government is not prepared to set free.
Another was Hamas’ demands that Israel withdraw from the Philadelphi corridor, a strip that runs 14km along the Gaza-Egypt border, and commit to a permanent ceasefire as opposed to a temporary pause in the military operation.
President-elect Donald Trump has warned Hamas to release the hostages before his inauguration 20, threatening that there will be “hell to pay” if this does not happen.
Earlier in January, it was reported that Hamas officials had released a list of 34 hostages that the militant group is willing to release in the first phase of a ceasefire with Israel.
The list included those aged between one and 84, and all but two of them were kidnapped on October 7. Hamas said that a number of hostages on the list were sick.
But the Israeli government denied that it had received a list.
“The list of hostages that has been published in the media was not provided to Israel by Hamas but was originally given by Israel to the mediators in July 2024,” the PMO said.
“As yet, Israel has not received any confirmation or comment by Hamas regarding the status of the hostages appearing on the list. Israel will continue to act relentlessly for the return of all of our hostages,” added the statement.
The list of hostages that are believed to be on the list for release is: Romi Gonen (24); Emily Damari (28); Arbel Yehoud (29); Doron Steinbrecher (31); Ariel Bibas (5); Kfir Bibas (1); Shiri Silberman Bibas (33); Liri Albag (19); Karina Ariev (20); Agam Berger (20); Daniel Gilboa (20); Naama Levy (20); Ohad Ben-Ami (55); Gad Moshe Moses (80); Keith Shmuel Siegel (65); Offer Kaldaron (53); Eliyahu Sharabi (52); Itzhak Elgaret (69); Shlomo Mansur (86); Ohad Yahalomi (50); Oded Lifshitz (84); Tsachi Idan (50); Hisham al-Sayed (36); Yarden Bibas (35); Sagi Dekel Chen (36); Iair Horn (46); Omer Wenkert (23); Alexandre Troufanov (28); Eliya Cohen (27); Or Levy (34); Avera Mengistu (38); Tal Shoham (39); Omer Shem Tov (21)
