Gaza ceasefire talks 90% complete, Palestinian official tells BBC

Talks to reach a ceasefire in Gaza and a hostage release agreement between Israel and Hamas are 90% complete, but there are still key issues that need to be resolved, a senior Palestinian official involved in the talks told the BBC.

One of the main sticking points is the continued Israeli military presence in the Philadelphia corridor, a strategically important strip of land in southern Gaza along the border with Egypt.

The Palestinian official shared details of discussions taking place in Doha, which include the possible creation of a buffer zone several kilometers wide along Israel’s border with Gaza.

Israel would maintain a military presence within this area, the official said.

Once these issues are resolved, a three-stage ceasefire could be agreed upon within days, they added.

The deal would include an exchange of 20 Palestinian prisoners for every female soldier released in the first of three stages of the ceasefire.

The names of the prisoners have not yet been agreed upon, but will be chosen from around 400 names serving prison sentences of 25 years or more in Israel.

They are not believed to include senior Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, whose release Israel is expected to veto.

The Israeli hostages would be released in stages, as Hamas is believed to still need to locate some of the missing hostages.

Of the 96 hostages still held in Gaza, Israel assumes 62 are still alive.

Gaza civilians could return to the north, under a system with Egyptian/Qatari supervision, and there would be around 500 trucks a day bringing aid to the strip, the official said.

In the final stage of the three-phase plan, which would mark the end of the 14-month war, Gaza would be overseen by a committee of enclave technocrats, who would have no prior political affiliations but would have the support of all. Palestinian factions.

In recent weeks, the United States, Qatar and Egypt have resumed their mediation efforts and reported increased willingness on the part of both sides to conclude an agreement.

A round of talks in mid-October failed to reach an agreement and Hamas rejected a short-term ceasefire proposal.

Hamas and two other Palestinian militant groups said reaching a ceasefire deal in Gaza “is closer than ever” only if Israel “stops imposing new conditions.”

In a statement on Telegram on Saturday, the group said it held a meeting in Cairo on Friday regarding ongoing negotiation efforts with representatives of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

The Palestinian Islamist armed group Hamas, which ruled Gaza, carried out an unprecedented cross-border attack in southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Some 1,200 people were killed and another 251 were kidnapped.

More than 100 hostages have been freed through negotiations or Israeli military rescue operations.