Qatar hands Israel, Hamas 'final' draft of Gaza ceasefire deal, says official

Mediator Qatar has handed Israel and Hamas a "final" draft of a ceasefire and hostage release agreement designed to end the war in Gaza, an official briefed on the negotiations told Reuters on Monday.

A breakthrough was reached in Doha after midnight following talks between Israel's spy chiefs, President-elect Trump's Middle East envoy and Qatar’s prime minister, the official said.

Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a school sheltering displaced people, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City January 13, 2025.Reuters

U.S. President Joe Biden spoke on Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the White House said. U.S. officials are racing to reach a Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal before Biden leaves office on Jan. 20.

Biden and Netanyahu discussed efforts underway to reach a deal to halt the fighting in the Palestinian enclave and free the remaining hostages there, the White House said in a statement after the two leaders spoke by telephone.

Biden "stressed the immediate need for a ceasefire in Gaza and return of the hostages with a surge in humanitarian aid enabled by a stoppage in the fighting under the deal," it said.

Smoke billows as buildings lie in ruin in Beit Hanoun, in the Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, as seen from southern Israel, January 12, 2025. Reuters

Israel’s military campaign in Gaza since October 7, 2023 Hamas attack has killed over 46,000 people, created a massive humanitarian crisis, and widespread displacement.

Hamas’ cross-border raid into Israeli territory claimed 1,200 lives. It also took more than 250 people captive.