'Significant progress' made on Gaza truce deal as 50 more killed

There have been considerable advances in the most recent round of indirect talks between Israel and Hamas aimed at securing a ceasefire in Gaza, a source familiar with the talks told AFP on Monday, even as heavy fighting rocked the Palestinian territory killing more than 50.

The "significant progress on the remaining sticking points" in the latest negotiations in Qatar had led to a new "concrete" proposal being presented to the parties, the source said on condition of anonymity due to sensitivity of talks.

Qatar, alongside fellow mediators the United States and Egypt, has been engaged in months of talks between Israel and Hamas that have failed to end the devastating conflict in Gaza.

The source said Qatar's premier had played a "significant role in bridging the final gaps" between the two sides.

They said Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani had been "pushing Hamas on one end" of discussions while Steve Witkoff, US President-elect Donald Trump's intended Middle East envoy was "pushing the Israelis".

Since early January, indirect negotiations have resumed in Doha to strike a ceasefire deal that would facilitate the release of dozens of hostages still held in Gaza.

The source added that there had been a "positive" initial response to the deal from both sides which would see more than 30 Israeli hostages held by Hamas released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in an initial first phase.

- 'Need for a deal' -

Qatar's ruler met with Hamas representatives and the Middle East envoys for the incoming and outgoing US administrations on Monday as part of a push to secure a so-far elusive ceasefire deal in Gaza.

Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and a delegation from the Palestinian militant group headed by lead negotiator Khalil al-Hayya discussed "developments in the ceasefire negotiations in the Gaza Strip, which aim to achieve a long-term truce", his office said in a statement.

The Qatari ruler also met Witkoff and Brett McGurk, incumbent Joe Biden's envoy for the region, the emir's office said in a separate statement.

Shortly afterwards, the White House released a statement saying Biden spoke with Sheikh Tamim to discuss "negotiations in Doha for a ceasefire and hostage release deal".

"Both leaders emphasised the urgent need for a deal to be implemented to return the hostages... and bring immediate relief to the people of Gaza through a surge in humanitarian aid enabled by the ceasefire and called for in the deal," the statement said.

A previous round of mediation in December ended without a deal with both sides blaming the other for the impasse. Hamas accused Israel of setting new conditions and Israel accused Hamas of throwing up obstacles to a deal.

A key obstacle in previous rounds has been Israel's reluctance to agree to a lasting ceasefire.

'On the brink'

US President Joe Biden said Monday that a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal between Hamas and Israel was "on the brink" of being finalised, even as heavy fighting rocked the Palestinian territory.

Since early January, international mediators Qatar, Egypt and the United States have intensified efforts to reach a deal for a ceasefire in Gaza, which would help facilitate the release of hostages still being held there.

"In the war between Israel and Hamas, we're on the brink of a proposal that I laid out in detail months ago finally coming to fruition," Biden said in a farewell speech at the State Department.

Earlier on Monday, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that a truce deal could be finalised this week.

"I'm not making a promise or prediction, but it is there for the taking and we are going to work to make it happen," Sullivan told reporters.

A source familiar with the negotiations in Doha told AFP there had been "significant progress on the remaining sticking points" in the latest talks in Qatar.

This has led to a new "concrete" proposal being presented to the parties, the source said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks.

"Israel really wants to release the hostages and is working hard to secure a deal," Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said at a press conference.

"The current round of negotiations is the most serious and deep and has made significant progress," a Palestinian official close to Hamas told AFP on condition of anonymity.

- Far-right opposition -

Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, however, warned he would oppose any deal that stopped the war.

"The proposed agreement is a catastrophe for Israel's national security," Smotrich said on X. "We will not be part of a surrender deal that involves releasing dangerous terrorists, halting the war, squandering the hard-won achievements paid for in blood and abandoning many hostages still in captivity.

"Now is the time to intensify our efforts, using all available force to fully secure and cleanse the Gaza Strip," he added.

Smotrich, an outspoken member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ruling coalition, has repeatedly opposed halting the war in Gaza.

His comments came amid rising calls by Israelis, particularly families of hostages held in Gaza, to reach an accord that would bring their loved ones home.

Smotrich's remarks underline the sharp divides in Netanyahu's ruling coalition over a deal.

But Netanyahu could nonetheless muster enough support to pass the deal through his cabinet, even without Smotrich.

Successive rounds of negotiations held last year repeatedly failed to produce a deal.

Among the key sticking points in the talks have been disagreements over the permanence of any ceasefire and the scale of humanitarian aid for the Palestinian territory.

Other points of contention include the return of displaced Gazans to their homes, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Palestinian territory and the reopening of border crossings.

Netanyahu has firmly rejected a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and remains opposed to any Palestinian governance of the territory.

The war in Gaza was sparked by Hamas's attack on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the deaths of 1,210 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.

On that day, militants also took 251 people hostage, 94 of whom are still being held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

Israel's retaliatory military offensive in Gaza has killed 46,584 people, a majority of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry that the United Nations says are reliable.

- Gaza City pounded -

Even as intense diplomatic efforts continued towards a truce deal, Israeli forces pounded Gaza City on Monday, killing more than 50 Palestinians, according to civilian rescuers.

"They bombed schools, homes and even gatherings of people," Mahmud Bassal, spokesman for the civil defence agency, told AFP.

Eleven people were killed and several others injured when an Israeli strike targeted a house belonging to the Jaradah and Abu Khater families in the city's Shujaiya neighbourhood, the agency said in a statement.

The remaining casualties occurred in other strikes across Gaza City throughout the day, it added.

The Israeli military said it was looking into those reports.

"There is no room in hospitals to receive the wounded," Bassal said.

The Israeli military also suffered losses on Monday, with five of its soldiers killed in fighting in northern Gaza, the military said in a statement.

The latest deaths bring the Israeli military's losses to 408 in the Gaza military campaign since it began a ground offensive against Hamas in the Palestinian territory on October 27, 2023.