GAZA: Hamas said on Tuesday that ongoing talks from Doha on a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal had reached the “final stage”. In a press statement, Hamas said it had informed other Palestinian factions of progress in the ceasefire talks. The factions expressed satisfaction with the development and emphasized the need for national preparedness for the next phase. Hamas has confirmed that negotiations will continue until a cease-fire and prisoner exchange deal, which is now in its final stages, is finalized. They hope this round of negotiations will end in a “clear and comprehensive agreement”. Earlier in the day, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari confirmed that the Gaza ceasefire talks in Doha had reached an advanced stage. “We don’t have a specific time frame, but efforts are continuing to finalize an agreement,” he said, stressing that a ceasefire would be implemented “immediately” once an agreement was reached. Hamas on Monday responded “positively” to a draft Gaza ceasefire deal offered by mediators in the Qatari capital of Doha, where indirect talks between Israel and Hamas resumed on January 3. Over the past months, efforts by mediators from Egypt, Qatar and the United States have failed to reach a new ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas since the first truce, which lasted a week from November to December 2023. Israel and Hamas engaged in a deadly conflict after Hamas launched an attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and about 250 others were taken hostage. The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks in Gaza has risen to 46,645, Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Tuesday.
