DOHA, January 14. /TASS/. Indirect negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas on a Gaza ceasefire are approaching completion, focusing on finalizing the agreement's details, Qatari Foreign Ministry Spokesman Majed bin Mohammed al-Ansari said at a briefing on Tuesday.
"First of all, I can confirm that that high-level talks are ongoing in Doha, in collaboration with our Egyptian and US partners, aimed at reducing tensions between the parties," Ansari noted. The advisor to the Qatari prime minister emphasized that the talks are "in their final stage" and that "the hurdles that had earlier prevented the negotiating process have been recently overcome."
"There can be no agreement until an [official] announcement is made, so we should not get too overly about current developments. However, we hope to see an agreement soon," Ansari said. "We once again urge both sides to seriously engage in the ongoing negotiations," he concluded.
Reuters reported on January 13, citing sources, that another round of talks is scheduled for early January 14 in Doha to finalize remaining details, with US President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Biden's envoy Brett McGurk expected to attend. Israeli Mossad Intelligence Service head David Barnea and General Security Service head Ronen Bar were also named as participants. The Egyptian TV channel Al Ekhbariya indicated that additional talks on Gaza are planned in Cairo shortly.
A humanitarian ceasefire brokered by Egypt and Qatar was established in Gaza in late November 2023. It lasted a week, facilitating the release of 110 hostages, according to Israel. However, the ceasefire was violated on December 1, 2023, and hostilities resumed. Despite several rounds of talks in 2024 involving Egypt, Qatar, and the US, the parties have yet to agree on another ceasefire.