{UAH} AGAIN ALL HOSTAGES HAVE TO COME HOME BEFORE DONALD PUTS HIS HAND ON THE BIBLE JANUARY THE 20TH

Israel and Hamas reach breakthrough in hostage, cease-fire negotiation talks

By Isabel Keane and

Steve Janoski

Published Jan. 13, 2025

 Updated Jan. 13, 2025, 4:29 p.m. ET

Mediators have handed Israel and Hamas the final draft of a deal that could finally bring the 15-month-long Gaza war to a close — with US officials saying a ceasefire was closer than it’s ever been after a midnight breakthrough in negotiations.

An official briefed on the talks — which have been attended by envoys of both US President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump — told Reuters that Qatar presented terms to both sides at a conference in the nation’s capital of Doha.

The ceasefire agreement’s text would end hostilities and release hostages — and another round of talks planned for Tuesday morning will let the opponents hammer out the remaining details, the official said.

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Israel and Hamas have reached a breakthrough in cease-fire talks.Anadolu via Getty Images

In a Monday statement, Hamas said it was keen on reaching a deal.

Meanwhile, an Israeli official said negotiations to release up to 33 Israeli hostages taken during Hamas’ savage October 2023 attack were in advanced stages.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told MSNBC the two sides were “closer than we’ve ever been” to a deal. And the ball is in Hamas’ court.

“We are very hopeful that we get it over the finish line, finally after all this time,” he said, adding that the proposal was built off a framework Biden put forward back in May.

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Demonstrators holding a poster and cutouts of hostages outside Likud party headquarters in Tel Aviv, demanding their immediate release.REUTERS

Neither side confirmed they’ve agreed on a final draft, but both reported forward movement.

“The negotiation over some core issues made progress and we are working to conclude what remains soon,” a Hamas official told Reuters.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar echoed the comments, saying, “There is progress, it looks much better than previously.”

“I want to thank our American friends for the huge efforts they are investing to secure a hostage deal,” Saar said.

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Hamas confirmed it was making steps toward a deal to release hostages.ZUMAPRESS.com

The US, Egypt and Qatar have tried to end the brutal conflict for more than a year.

“I think there is a good chance we can close this,” Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security advisor, told reporters. “The parties are right on the cusp of being able to close this deal.”

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Both Hamas and Israel have sought to end the fighting for months — and both want Israeli and Palestinian hostages released.

But Hamas has insisted the deal must halt the war for good. And the militant group wants a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, an enclave of about 2.1 million along the Mediterranean Sea.

Israel has said it won’t leave until it eliminates Hamas.

Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20 has long been seen as a deadline, with the president-elect warning Hamas there would be “hell to pay” if the hostages are not released.

Biden has also pushed hard for the deal, stressing in a Sunday phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the “immediate need for a cease-fire in Gaza and return of the hostages with a surge in humanitarian aid enabled by a stoppage in the fighting under the deal,” the White House said. 

Hamas is still holding about 100 hostages, including seven Americans, in Gaza following the group’s 2023 attack on Israel.  

Up to half of them may be dead, according to officials.

Meanwhile, the Israelis have killed more than 46,000 people in Gaza, Palestinian health officials have claimed, though a study by UK-based Henry Jackson Society found that an upwards of 17,000 were Hamas terrorists.