Sullivan: There’s a chance of a Gaza deal this week

White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on January 13 that “there is a chance of reaching an agreement on Gaza this week,” Bloomberg reports.

Sullivan’s words are also noted that the current White House administration tried to cooperate with the team of President-elect Donald Trump on this issue.

Earlier, Qatar, which mediates indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the release of hostages and the future of the strip, handed over a “final” draft agreement to Israel and Hamas. This was reported by Reuters. According to a source familiar with the negotiations, a breakthrough in negotiations was achieved after midnight during a meeting between the heads of Israeli intelligence agencies, President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy and the Qatari prime minister.

A senior Israeli source has denied a report that Qatar has handed over to Israel a “final” version of a deal with Hamas on the release of hostages, a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the future of the strip. Journalist Amit Sehgal, citing this source, reports that negotiations are still in full swing.

Hamas representatives, commenting on a Reuters report that they had received a “final” version of the deal, said that an official statement on behalf of the group would be published soon.

The day before, US Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, in an interview with Fox News, expressed hope that an agreement would be reached before the end of President Joe Biden’s term. At the same time, Vance said that the promotion became possible after direct and unequivocal threats from Trump. “Hamas is afraid of the consequences,” he said.

Against this backdrop, the London-based newspaper Al-Quds Al-Arabi, supported by Qatar, writes: “Negotiations in Qatar have been proceeding at a rapid pace for several weeks, and there is now clear progress.” According to the editors of this publication, the deal provides for the release of hostages in two stages – first, after a ceasefire is declared, women, elderly people, the sick and people included in the “humanitarian group” will be released. At the same time, a large-scale withdrawal of Israeli army forces from some areas of Gaza must be carried out. At the same time, IDF forces will temporarily remain on the “Netzarim axis” (in the center of the sector) and in the “Philadelphia corridor” (in the south of the sector, along the border with Egypt). The publication quoted a senior security source as saying that dismantling IDF fortifications in these areas could be done “relatively quickly” if necessary.

During the implementation of the first stage, it is expected to discuss the release of the second group of hostages, which includes military personnel and young men, writes Al-Quds Al-Arabi. The agreement also includes the return of abducted bodies, despite concerns that Hamas will say some bodies cannot be found.

According to Al-Quds Al-Arabi, Hamas is ready to implement such an agreement if it receives guarantees that Israel will not resume hostilities after the end of the ceasefire agreement.

The Saudi television channel Al Arabiya states that “Israel is interested in a two-kilometer-deep buffer zone in the north and east of Gaza.” It is unclear whether this will be included in the agreement.

There is one more point on which it has not yet been possible to agree: Israel insists on the deportation of released prisoners “with blood on their hands” (that is, terrorist murderers) who were sentenced to life terms.

The question of how and by whom Gaza will be governed after the war also remains open. But this topic is not discussed within the framework of the “exchange” agreement.

According to Al-Arabiya and Al-Hadat TV channels, the negotiations in Doha, which began on January 12, will end today. It is confirmed that there is “tangible progress on many outstanding issues.”