A truce between Hamas and Israel may be close, says US President Joe Biden.
Israeli officials tell CNN that 33 hostages in Gaza may be released in a first phase.
– Now the final draft is discussed by both parties, and each party informs the mediators of its position. says a Hamas official to the TV channel.
Talks are currently underway in Doha, Qatar, and the parties are said to be close to an agreement, which Israel believes it is prepared to implement immediately.
In a speech on Monday, Biden announced that they are close to the ceasefire proposal that he previously presented.
– We are close to a proposal that I put forward in detail months ago, which can finally become a reality, says Biden.
“Is there an agreement on the table”
US officials say a ceasefire and hostage release may be close, sparking “serious optimism” within the Biden administration for the first time in months.
US Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer says significant progress has been made.
– There is an agreement on the table that Hamas should accept, says Finer.
Several parts remain to be discussed
The problems said to remain concern the buffer zone along the eastern and northern borders of the Gaza Strip, where Hamas wants it to be the same size as before October 7, while Israel is requesting a much larger zone. Hamas also demands that Israel withdraw from the Philadelphia corridor in the south, which borders Egypt.
Discussions are also ongoing on the release of Palestinian prisoners and the release of hostages. For CNN, an American official states that Hamas may release 33 hostages in a first phase.
Hamas has previously shared with the BBC, among others, a list of 34 hostages it said it was willing to release in the first phase of a possible ceasefire. Israel then stated that it had not received the list sent to it by Hamas, but that it had received it via intermediaries already this summer.