‘Very good feeling’ about ceasefire agreement: Witkoff
The White House is optimistic a new proposal from US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff could result in a ceasefire agreement soon, US outlet Axios reported, quoting three sources involved in the negotiations.
“If each side moves just a bit, we could have a deal within days,” the outlet reported one source as saying.
Last night, Hamas said it had reached an agreement with Witkoff on a general framework for a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the unhindered entry of humanitarian aid.
Following that, Witkoff made an appearance alongside Trump in the Oval Office and announced he had drafted “a new term sheet” for the president’s approval, Axios reported.
“I have some very good feelings about getting to a temporary ceasefire and a long-term resolution, a peaceful resolution of that conflict,” Witkoff said.
Witkoff has been negotiating with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his top adviser Ron Dermer, as well as with Hamas leaders in Doha through Palestinian-American businessman Bishara Bahbah.
Israel’s recent statements signal that it has no intention of ending its war on Gaza.
Biden and Blinken had very good feelings all the time, never delivered... Every time Hamas agrees to something US/Israel change the agreement again.
Israeli opposition leader says PM must accept ceasefire deal
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept a ceasefire framework mediated by a US envoy.
He said he is willing to give political support to Netanyahu to accept the deal, even if hardliners in the Israeli cabinet reject it. “Israel must publicly and immediately accept the outline published this morning by American mediator Steve Witkoff,” Lapid posted on X.
“I remind Netanyahu: He has a full safety net from me to accept the outline, even if [National Security Minister Itamar] Ben-Gvir and [Finance Minister Bezalel] Smotrich try to torpedo it.”
Last night, Hamas said it had reached an agreement with Witkoff on a general framework for a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the unhindered entry of humanitarian aid.
Following that, Witkoff made an appearance alongside Trump in the Oval Office and announced he had drafted “a new term sheet” for the president’s approval, Axios reported.
Here’s what we know about the proposed ceasefire agreement
Hamas has said that it has reached an agreement with Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump’s envoy to the region, on a “general framework” for a ceasefire. The group said the deal would involve the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, the flow of aid into the territory, and the transfer of power to an independent “professional committee” once the agreement was announced.
The proposed deal would see Hamas release 10 living Israeli hostages, and an unspecified number of bodies of dead hostages, in exchange for Israel’s release of a number of Palestinian prisoners, the group said. While Witkoff has not released details of the proposal, sources have told Al Jazeera that the release would take place in two stages over the course of a 60-day ceasefire.
The AP news agency reported, citing a Hamas official and an Egyptian official, that more than 1,100 Palestinians prisoners, including 100 serving long sentences for deadly attacks, would be released, and that Israeli forces would withdraw to positions held during the previous ceasefire, while both sides pledged to hold serious negotiations to reach a long-term deal.
Israel’s government, though, has said it will only agree to temporary halts to the fighting to secure the release of hostages, while Israeli media has quoted officials saying the proposed agreement, as reported, was a non-starter.
Hardline government ministers have railed against the proposal, with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich saying it would be “a lifeline to Hamas”. “We are not leaving areas we’ve conquered,” he said. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said that Netanyahu’s accepting such a deal would be crossing a “red line”.
Israeli opposition figures, though, have voiced support for the proposal, with opposition leader Yair Lapid urging Netanyahu to “immediately” accept the framework, pledging to give him political support for the deal if the prime minister’s hardline allies tried to “torpedo it”. Benny Gantz, chairman of the opposition National Unity Party, has also called for Netanyahu to accept the proposal, saying he had “no excuse” not to.
Netanyahu is expected to hold a security meeting today to discuss the proposal, Israeli media is reporting.
