Gaza ceasefire deal 'right on the brink', says US

Negotiators met in Doha yesterday in an effort to hammer out the final details of a ceasefire in Gaza as the warring sides were reported to be close to a deal and the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said negotiations were "right on the brink".

- Julian Borger, Lorenzo Tondo, Andrew Roth,

Israeli media and reports from the Qatari capital said the agreement would involve an initial release of 33 Israeli hostages, including children, women, elderly people and the sick, and up to 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, alongside a partial Israeli troop withdrawal in a first phase lasting 60 days.

After 16 days, talks would begin on a second phase of the agreement, which would involve the release of other survivors among the 61 remaining hostages, including military-age men, and the bodies of those who have died.

The Israeli military withdrawal would be completed in the course of this second stage.

Envoys representing the Biden White House and the incoming Trump administration are taking part in what was billed as a "final round" of talks, meeting delegates from Israel, Egypt and Qatar.

The US president-elect, Donald Trump, said negotiators were "very close" to finalising a deal that could halt the fighting, which has claimed at least 45,000 Palestinian lives since October 2023 and left Gaza's 2.3 million residents facing catastrophic humanitarian conditions.

"I understand that there has been a handshake and they are getting it finished - maybe by the end of the week," Trump told Newsmax on Monday night as his envoy Steve Witkoff participated in the negotiations in Doha. "The truth of the matter is that this ceasefire and peace deal is being driven by Trump's team," one Pentagon official told the Guardian. "And Biden, Blinken and the whole administration secured its legacy as enablers."