Negotiators from Israel and Hamas have provisionally agreed to the broad outline of a cease-fire in Gaza, though they have yet to confirm its start date and other technical issues, according to a senior official from one of the mediating countries and two senior Israeli officials.
The deal still needs to be formally ratified by the Israeli cabinet, according to the officials. Two other officials said there was last-minute wrangling over the Egypt-Gaza border, which is currently controlled by Israeli forces — which could still delay a final agreement.
If implemented, the cease-fire would allow for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners in Israel, after more than a year of devastating war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and destroyed much of the enclave.
Neither Israel nor Hamas has publicly endorsed the agreement, but the Palestinian group said on Tuesday that the negotiations had entered their “final stages,” and Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Saar, said on Wednesday evening that he was returning early from a trip abroad to join cabinet discussions about the hostages. Hamas said in a statement on Wednesday evening that it had responded to the proposed deal, without clarifying further.
In order to implement the deal, Hamas’s negotiating team at the talks in Doha, Qatar, must obtain the consent of the group’s commanders in Gaza, including Muhammad Sinwar, whose brother Yahya led the group before being killed by Israel in October.
Hamas officials did not respond to questions about whether Mr. Sinwar had replied to the proposal. But two Israeli security officials said that objections raised by Mr. Sinwar to a draft agreement had been resolved and estimated that a deal could be concluded within the coming 24 to 48 hours.
A Hamas official aware of the talks said that its negotiators were working to have details finalized by the end of Wednesday or Thursday but that negotiations were still ongoing and that the timing was not clear.
Officials interviewed for this article spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy.
On Wednesday morning, outstanding issues included maps of how Israeli forces would redeploy inside Gaza during the cease-fire, as well as lists of Palestinian prisoners slated for release in exchange for Israeli and foreign hostages, one of the officials said.
Israel has also demanded a system to prevent armed fighters from returning to northern Gaza. Mediators are also trying to iron out details on inspections of the hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians who would be expected to head to northern Gaza from the south, where many have been displaced, in the event of a truce, the official said.
The latest round of talks is being held in Qatar, a key mediator alongside Egypt and the United States. Majed al-Ansari, the spokesman for the Qatari Foreign Ministry, said on Tuesday that the two sides had overcome major disagreements.
In Israel, some hard-line members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government have also voiced opposition to the deal. But on Wednesday, Gideon Saar, the Israeli foreign minister, said he believed that a majority would sign off on an agreement if it came to a cabinet vote.
Months of shuttle diplomacy have failed to end the war in Gaza, which began after Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that killed 1,200 people and saw 250 taken hostage. Around 105 captives were later released in a weeklong cease-fire in November 2023 in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.
Abu Bakr Bashir and Gabby Sobelman contributed reporting.
