Hamas announces Gaza cease-fire agreement draft pending Israeli approval

Hamas announced the completion Saturday of a draft agreement for a Gaza Strip cease-fire deal, pending approval from Israel, signaling potential progress in efforts to end hostilities.

A spokesperson for the Palestinian resistance group, Jihad Taha, told the London-based pan-Arab news outlet, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed TV, that mediators finalized a draft outlining the terms for a cease-fire and a prisoner exchange.

He noted they were awaiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s representative in Doha to approve the arrangements and sign the deal.

Cease-fire talks have reportedly advanced positively, with Qatar-based Al Araby TV citing Hamas officials who said negotiations are nearing conclusion. The next few hours are described as pivotal for finalizing the agreement.

Al Araby TV said under the draft’s initial phase, Israel would withdraw from specific points, including the Rafah border crossing in southern Gaza and parts of the Philadelphi Corridor—a buffer zone on the border of Gaza and Egypt. A week after the cease-fire begins, prisoners would be released, and Israel would retreat from the agreed areas.

Qatar, Egypt and the U.S. are expected to hold a news conference to reveal the details, implementation schedule and start date, it said.

U.S. President Joe Biden confirmed Thursday that progress had been made on an agreement.

The Israeli army has continued a genocidal war on Gaza that has killed more than 46,500 victims, most of them women and children, since Oct. 7, 2023, despite a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.