Qatar delivers new finalized draft for a phased Gaza ceasefire deal to Israel and Hamas

Ahram Online , Monday 13 Jan 2025

Qatar has delivered a finalized draft of a phased ceasefire deal to end the 15-month-old Israeli war on the Gaza Strip to Israel and Hamas for approval, according to sources close to the negotiations.

`
A boy sits next to a wall of graffiti along the roadside near the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on January 11, 2025. AFP

 

Sources told Reuters and AP that a breakthrough in talks was reached in Doha on Sunday following indirect talks between Israel and Hamas that were mediated by Israel's spy chiefs, President-elect Donald Trump's Middle East envoy, Egyptian officials, and Qatar’s prime minister.

A possible deal is now on the table, one of these sources confirmed to the AP.

Israeli and Hamas negotiators will now take it back to their leaders for final approval, said the source.

However, a Hamas official told the AP several hurdles in the talks must be overcome.

Several contentious issues still need to be resolved, including an Israeli agreement to end the war and details about the withdrawal of Israeli troops and the prisoner-captive swap, explained the Hamas official.

Hamas and other Palestinian resistance groups had demanded a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and an immediate end to the war on the strip. Still, they agreed in recent weeks to a phased deal.

An Egyptian official told the AP that progress was made in the talks, but it might take a few days before the matter is wrapped up.

According to the Egyptian official, both sides want to reach a deal before Trump's inauguration on 20 January.

Trump has made it clear that he wants Hamas to release all Israeli captives before starting his new stint in the White House, threatening to raise hell in the region if this does not happen.

In this vein, President Biden, who hopes to wrap up a deal before leaving office next week, discussed the status of the ongoing talks with PM Netanyahu on Sunday.

For months, mediation efforts by the Biden administration, Egypt and Qatar failed to broker an agreement between Israel and Hamas to end the Gaza war.

Mediators came very close on more than one occasion – in May 2024 and again in July 2024 - to finalizing a ceasefire deal.

However, in the 11th hour, at every moment a deal seemed imminent, the Israeli government, led by PM Benjamin Netanyahu, refused to sign, opting to expand its genocidal war on Gaza in search of political and territorial gains in the strip.

On Monday, the head of the Palestinian Prisoners Affairs Authority, Qadoura Fares, revealed that more than 3,000 Palestinian prisoners would be released as part of the anticipated ceasefire agreement.

According to Fares, the figure includes 200 prisoners serving life sentences who would likely be exiled to Qatar, Egypt, or Turkey.

Deal in phases
 

On Sunday, Israeli media revealed some fine print of the finalized multi-phase ceasefire deal presented to the two sides.

Phase 1 (42 Days)
 

Hostilities-Swap-Return

  • Both sides agree to a temporary cessation of military operations.
  • Israeli forces will retreat eastward in the Gaza Strip, away from densely populated areas to locations near the Israel-Gaza border, including Wadi Gaza (Netzarim axis and Kuwait Roundabout).
  • Displaced Palestinians return to their homes.
  • The first phase of the Palestinian prisoner-Israeli captive exchange starts.
  • Israel commits not to re-arrest the Palestinian prisoners released as part of the deal.

Humanitarian relief

The United Nations, its agencies, and other international organizations can deliver humanitarian relief and services to a near-starving population in the Gaza Strip without obstacles.

 

Reconstruction efforts: 

  • Preparations for comprehensive reconstruction of the Gaza Strip would begin, including plans for rebuilding homes, schools, hospitals, and infrastructure destroyed during the war.
  • Compensation would be provided to Palestinians harmed by the war under the supervision of countries and organizations such as Egypt, Qatar, and the United Nations.
  • A lasting ceasefire and other issues could be negotiated after the first phase begins.
Phase 2 (42 Days)
 
  • The announcement of lasting calm, with a permanent cessation of military operations and all hostilities.
  • Full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.

 

Phase 3 (42 Days)
 
  • Both sides will exchange the bodies and remains of those deceased in their possession.
  • Implementation of a 3 to 5-year plan for rebuilding the Gaza Strip.
  • Border crossings in and out of the Gaza Strip will be reopened, allowing for the movement of people and goods.

The US, Qatar, and Egypt will be the agreement's guarantors.

Short link: