Hopes mount for hostages after Hamas chief says truce deal 'close'
GAZA STRIP, Palestine — Hopes mounted on Tuesday that dozens of hostages seized by Hamas could be released from war-torn Gaza, after the group's leader and key mediator Qatar both said a truce agreement with Israel was in sight.
"We are close to reaching a deal on a truce," Ismail Haniyeh said, according to a statement sent by his office to AFP, after US President Joe Biden indicated an accord was on the cards on Monday.
In Qatar, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Majed Al Ansari told reporters: "We are at the closest point we ever had been in reaching an agreement.
"We're very optimistic, very hopeful," he added.
Hopes of a breakthrough have been mounting since Qatar on Sunday said only "minor" practical issues remained to secure a deal.
Speculation grew further when the International Committee of the Red Cross, which is often involved in prisoner exchanges and hostage releases, said on Monday that its president had met Haniyeh in Qatar.
Sources from Hamas and Islamic Jihad told AFP on condition of anonymity that their groups had agreed to the terms of a truce deal.
The tentative agreement would include a five-day truce, comprised of a complete ceasefire on the ground and an end to Israeli air operations over Gaza, except in the north, where they would only halt for six hours daily.
Under the deal, which the sources said could yet change, between 50 and 100 Israeli civilian and foreign hostages would be released, but no military personnel.
In exchange, some 300 Palestinians would be freed from Israeli jails, among them women and minors.
An agreement could bring some respite for Gazans who have endured more than six weeks under Israel bombardment and an expanding ground offensive.
Large parts of Gaza have been flattened by thousands of air strikes, and the territory is under siege, with minimal food, water and fuel allowed to enter.
According to the Hamas and Islamic Jihad sources, the proposed deal would also allow for up to 300 trucks of food and medical aid to enter Gaza.