Jerusalem
CNN
—
Hamas is expected to release 33 hostages during the first phase of an emerging ceasefire agreement being finalized by negotiators in Doha, two Israeli officials said.
Israel believes that most of the 33 hostages are alive, a senior Israeli official told reporters on Monday, but the bodies of dead hostages will also likely be among those released during the initial 42-day ceasefire. Hamas and its allies still hold 94 hostages taken from Israel during the attacks of October 7, 2023, at least 34 of whom are dead, according to the Israeli government.
The senior Israeli official said that the parties appear to be on the verge of an agreement and that Israel is prepared to immediately implement the deal once it has been inked.
US President Joe Biden expressed similar optimism in a speech Monday focused on foreign policy, saying the US was “pressing hard to close this.”
“The deal we have structured would free the hostages, halt the fighting, provide security to Israel, and allow us to significantly surge humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians who suffered terribly in this war that Hamas started. They have been through hell,” Biden said.
The release of the 33 hostages would be the first phase of the deal being finalized. Negotiations to reach the second phase – which is intended to end the war – would begin on the 16th day of the implementation of the deal.
Under the latest proposals, Israeli forces would maintain a presence along the Philadelphi Corridor – a narrow strip of land along the Egypt-Gaza border – during the first phase of the agreement, the officials said. The presence of Israeli troops along the corridor previously contributed to sinking a potential deal in September during the last round of negotiations.
The residents of northern Gaza would be allowed to return freely to the north of the strip, but an Israeli official claimed there would be unspecified “security arrangements” in place.
Palestinian prisoners deemed responsible for killing Israelis would not be released into the West Bank, the official said, but rather to the Gaza Strip or abroad following agreements with foreign countries.
A senior Israeli official told reporters on Monday that a “breakthrough” in the talks came late Sunday night during Israeli intelligence agency Mossad Director David Barnea’s meeting with the mediators in Doha, Qatar.
“There is talk of an agreement in the near future – it is impossible to say whether it is a matter of hours or days,” the official said.
The official said Israel is prepared to quickly implement the agreement, but the deal must first pass both the security cabinet and full government cabinet. The government must also allow time for opponents of the agreement to petition the Supreme Court.
“We are closer than ever to a deal but mediators in Doha are still awaiting official responses from both sides,” said an Arab official briefed on the talks.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said Monday it remained hopeful but cautious amid the reports of a deal being close.
“We continue to trust in those working tirelessly to bring our loved ones home, and we will not rest until the last hostage returns,” the group said.
Israel launched its war on Hamas in Gaza following the attacks of October 7, 2023, in which around 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage. Since then, the Israeli military has killed at least 46,565 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. More than 100,000 have been injured.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
