1 of 1 Ismail Haniyeh speaks to the Palestinian people in Gaza on Christmas Eve. — Photo: Said Khatib / AFP Photo Ismail Haniyeh speaks to the Palestinian people in Gaza on Christmas Eve. — Photo: Said Khatib / AFP Photo
The head of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, said this Tuesday (21) that he is close to reaching a ceasefire agreement in the war with Israel.
“We are close to reaching an agreement on a ceasefire,” Haniyeh said in a Telegram post.
Hamas fighters also killed around 1,200 people, most of them civilians, in the invasion of Israeli territory.
In retaliation for the attack, Israel launched a continuous bombardment of Gaza and a ground offensive, promising to defeat Hamas and secure the release of the hostages.
According to the Hamas government, which is in power in Gaza, more than 1,000 people have been killed in the war 13,300 PalestiniansThousands of them children.
Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed ben Abdelrahmane AlThani said on Sunday that an agreement to release some hostages in exchange for a temporary ceasefire depended on “minor” practical issues.
On Monday, US President Joe Biden said in Washington that he believed an agreement to release the hostages was near.
“I think so,” Biden said when asked. Then the president crossed his fingers as a sign of hope for a positive outcome.
Two sources close to the negotiations told AFP that a preliminary agreement called for a fiveday ceasefire that would mean a ground ceasefire and restrictions on Israeli air operations in the southern Gaza Strip.
In return, between 50 and 100 hostages held by Hamas and Islamic Jihad another group of Palestinian militants would be released.
This includes Israeli civilians and members of other nationalities, but not military personnel.
According to the proposed agreement about 300 Palestinians would be released from Israeli prisonsincluding women and children.
The White House reported that negotiations were on hold “Finalization” phase, However, he declined to provide further details so as not to jeopardize a successful outcome.
Separately, the International Committee of the Red Cross said Monday that its president, Mirjana Spoljaric, had traveled to Qatar to meet with Haniyeh “to advance humanitarian issues related to the armed conflict in Israel and Gaza.”
In a statement, the Genevabased organization said it continued to “call for the urgent protection of all victims of the conflict and alleviation of the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.”
He also said he “strongly called for the immediate release of the hostages.”