Gaza ceasefire appears close as U.S., Egyptian leaders put focus on 'coming hours'

Negotiators were near to hammering out the final details of a ceasefire in Gaza on Wednesday after marathon talks in Qatar, where U.S. and Egyptian leaders promised to stay in close contact about a deal over the coming hours.

More than eight hours of talks in Doha had fueled optimism. Officials from Qatar, Egypt and the U.S., as well as Israel and Hamas said an agreement for a truce in the besieged enclave and the release of hostages was closer than ever.

Qatar's foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari earlier told a news conference that both sides were presented with a text, and talks on the last details were underway.

But a senior Hamas official told Reuters late on Tuesday that the Palestinian group had not delivered its response yet because it was still waiting for Israel to submit maps showing how its forces would withdraw from Gaza.

U.S. President Joe Biden, whose administration has been taking part alongside an envoy of President-elect Donald Trump, said a deal was close.

Biden and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi talked about progress in the negotiations on Tuesday.

"Both leaders committed to remain in close coordination directly and through their teams over the coming hours," the White House said in a statement after the leaders' telephone call.

The two presidents "emphasized the urgent need for a deal to be implemented."

Hamas said the talks had reached the final steps and it hoped this round of negotiations would lead to a deal.

An Israeli official said talks had reached a critical phase, although some details needed to be worked out: "We are close, we are not there yet."

If successful, the phased ceasefire – capping over a year of start-and-stop talks – could halt fighting that decimated Gaza, killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, made most of the enclave's population homeless and is still killing dozens a day.

That, in turn, could ease tensions across the wider Middle East, where the war has fueled conflict in the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq, and raised fears of all-out war between Israel and Iran.

Israel would recover around 100 remaining hostages and bodies from among those captured in the October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas that precipitated the conflict. In return, it would free Palestinian detainees.

Despite the efforts to reach a ceasefire, new Israeli strikes in Gaza killed at least 15 people on Tuesday in attacks on Deir al-Balah and Rafah, medics said.

Meanwhile, the United Nations said it was busy preparing to expand humanitarian assistance to Gaza under a potential ceasefire, but uncertainty around border access and security remained obstacles.

Families of hostages in Israel were caught between hope and despair.

"We can't miss this moment. This is the last moment; we can save them," said Hadas Calderon, whose husband Ofer and children Sahar and Erez were abducted.

An Israeli official said the deal's first stage would see the release of 33 hostages, including children, women – including some female soldiers, men above 50, and the wounded and sick. Israel would gradually and partially withdraw some forces.

A Palestinian source said Israel would free 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in the first phase over 60 days.

(With input from Reuters)