DOHA/CAIRO/JERUSALEM: Negotiators were trying to clinch agreement on Tuesday (Jan 14) on the final details of a ceasefire in Gaza after marathon talks in Qatar, with med
FILE PHOTO: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivers a statement to the press after the meeting with the foreign ministers of the Arab Contact Group on Syria in Jordan's southern city of Aqaba on December 14, 2024. ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/Pool via REUTERS/File PhotoHowever, after more than eight hours of talks, a senior Hamas official told Reuters late on Tuesday that the Palestinian group was still waiting for Israel to submit maps showing how its forces would withdraw from Gaza .
Qatar's foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari earlier told a news conference that talks on the final details were underway after both sides were presented with a text.Hamas said the talks had reached the final steps and that it hoped this round of negotiations would lead to a deal after mediation by Qatar, Egypt and the United States.
If successful, the phased ceasefire - capping over a year of start-and-stop talks - could halt fighting that decimated Gaza, killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, made most of the enclave's population homeless and is still killing dozens a day. A Palestinian source said Israel would free 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in the first phase over 60 days.
Israel launched its assault in Gaza after Hamas-led fighters stormed across its borders on Oct 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
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