An Israeli official subsequently denied to Reuters that Jerusalem received a draft proposal
A draft deal for the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza is nearing completion, with the details having been finalized and awaiting the terror group’s final approval.
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Mediator Qatar has handed Israel and Hamas a “final” draft agreement, an official briefed on the negotiations told Reuters. A breakthrough was reached in Doha after midnight following talks between Israel’s intelligence services chiefs, President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy and Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the official said.
An Israeli official subsequently denied to Reuters that Jerusalem received a draft proposal.
According to an outline published by Saudi outlet Al Arabiya, under the terms of the phased agreement Israel is to withdraw from specific areas of Gaza over 42 days, increase humanitarian aid and eventually withdraw fully from Gaza. The agreement also includes the release of 50 Palestinian terrorists serving life sentences and the exchange of 50 “female prisoners” for each Israeli female soldier released.
“We knew from the start that we were going to pay high prices for the hostages,” Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid told JNS at the faction meeting of his Yesh Atid Party at the Knesset in Jerusalem on Monday.
“These prices should be paid because there is no alternative; there is no other way of healing Israeli society, and that is when the hostages are home, safely, safe, and sound—all of them,” Lapid stated. “As a society, and as a people, and as a democracy, we are willing to pay the toll.”
The Hamas terrorist group is holding 98 hostages in Gaza, 94 of whom were kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023, and four of whom were captured in 2014, according to the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office. Thirty-six of the hostages Hamas is holding are deceased, including two from 2014 (Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul).
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich earlier on Monday called the emerging ceasefire agreement with Hamas a “catastrophe” for Israel’s security, stressing that his Religious Zionism Party would not sign it.
“The emerging deal is a catastrophe for the national security of the State of Israel,” said Smotrich. “We will not be part of a surrender deal that includes the release of arch-terrorists, halting the war, undermining the achievements that were secured with many lives lost, and abandoning numerous hostages.”
National Missions Minister Orit Strook, a fellow member of Smotrich’s party, likewise warned that dozens of hostages could be left behind, “including soldiers who were kidnapped during heroic battles, young people who were kidnapped only because instead of fleeing for their lives, they chose to take care of others.”
Yisrael Beiteinu Party leader Avigdor Liberman stressed in response to a question from JNS at the Knesset on Monday the need for a deal that would lead to the release of all hostages “at one time, in one beat.”
“A one-beat deal is what is necessary, both in terms of security and in terms of the unity of the people,” the opposition lawmaker added.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Joe Biden recently discussed the negotiations, with Biden stressing the urgency of a ceasefire and the return of hostages. U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that while an agreement was close, some issues remain unresolved. The goal is to finalize the deal by Jan. 20, the date of Trump’s inauguration.
A senior Israeli delegation traveled to Doha on Sunday amid signs of flexibility from Hamas and pressure from the Trump administration to secure an agreement before the inauguration.
Netanyahu dispatched Mossad Director David Barnea; Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) chief Ronen Bar; Maj. Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon, the head of the Missing and Captive Soldiers Section in the Military Intelligence Directorate; and his political adviser Ophir Falk to Doha following a discussion in Jerusalem on Saturday afternoon with Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.
Zvika Mor, whose 23-year-old son Eitan remains captive in the Gaza Strip, said in a conversation with JNS on Monday afternoon that he opposed the terms of the emerging agreement for two reasons.
“First, it doesn’t bring back all the hostages. The majority of the captives stay there,” said Mor. “And not only that, but Hamas also receives what is most important to it at the start [in the first phase of the agreement], and that is the return of Gazans to the northern Strip.”
“A million Gazans are supposed to return to the northern Strip. This means that we can’t continue fighting there to put military pressure and return the remaining hostages,” according to the father of the hostage.
“Hamas is going to regroup in Gaza and again jeopardize the security of the State of Israel,” said Mor. “We demand to stop the talks with Hamas and fight. Now that Trump has entered, we have all the international legitimacy; we demand deterrence, determination and victory.”