WASHINGTON, September 5. /TASS/. The new 18-paragraph US plan for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip has been 90% agreed, a high-ranking US administration official told an online briefing.
"There are 18 paragraphs. Fourteen paragraphs are identical (to the previous proposals on the deal - TASS). One paragraph has a very technical fix, and the other three paragraphs have to do with the exchange of prisoners to hostages, which even Hamas' own text of July 2 explicitly says has to still be negotiated. So basically, 90% of this deal has been agreed, and it's been agreed on terms that even Hamas had in their own proposal on the humanitarian benefits," he said.
According to the official, the deal has "three primary components." "One is the humanitarian and the benefits for Gazans that are kind of woven throughout this deal. That's one part. A second part is a prisoner exchange, that is the hostages for Palestinian prisoners. And the third part are the ceasefire arrangements for what those arrangements will look like, and including some redeployment of Israeli forces," he explained, adding that the implementation of this plan would put an end to the war in the Gaza Strip.
Another round of Gaza ceasefire and hostage release consultations was held in Doha on August 15 and 16. The leaders of Egypt, Qatar, and the United States said in their joint statement after the talks, which was released by Fahmy, that the talks had been held in a positive atmosphere.
The next round was held in Cairo on August 25. The Israeli delegation included Mossad intelligence service director David Barnea, Shabak (Israeli Security Agency) chief Ronen Bar, and the coordinator for the Israeli hostages in Gaza file, Nitzan Alon. Hamas refused to take part in the consultations but agreed to visit Cairo to learn about the results of this round. According to Hamas spokesman Izzat al-Risheq, Hamas once again demanded that Israel fulfill the terms Hamas had agreed upon on July 2. Working groups of mediators met in Doha again on August 28.
Early on September 2, the Axios portal reported, citing a US administration official that US President Joe Biden planned to present the final edition of a Gaza ceasefire deal within days. Israel and Hamas will be given a week to respond to the new US proposal.