Doha [Qatar], December 18 : Hamas has expressed optimism about the prospects of reaching a deal about hostage and ceasefire negotiations with Israel, amid a flurry of diplomatic activity in the region, CNN reported.
In an official statement on Tuesday, Hamas said reaching an agreement was "possible." The report cited a Hamas source calling the talks "positive and optimistic."
Top US, Israeli, Qatari and Egyptian officials have all touted progress in the negotiations in recent days. While officials caution that a deal is neither sealed nor guaranteed, the upbeat language and recent diplomatic activity point to significant momentum toward reaching a deal, according to CNN.
The CIA director, Bill Burns, is expected to travel to Qatar this week to participate in further talks on a ceasefire in Gaza. Burns is expected in Doha as early as Wednesday. The report further cited an Israeli official as saying that a deal was still potentially weeks away.
Hamas, however, hasalso cautioned that hurdles remain, suggesting that Israel was "imposing new conditions" in the negotiations.
"The Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas affirms that in light of the serious and positive discussions taking place in Doha today, under the auspices of our Qatari and Egyptian brothers, reaching an agreement for a ceasefire and prisoner exchange is possible if the occupation stops imposing new conditions," it said in a statement.
Both Israeli and Hamas teams are in the Qatari capital for indirect negotiations. The Israeli delegation includes representatives from the Mossad and Shin Bet security services. It is the most intensive period since talks fell apart at the end of August.
The terms of the deal are broadly the same as the proposal put forth by US President Joe Biden earlier this year.
The three-phase Biden proposal in late May paired a release of hostages held in Gaza with a "full and complete ceasefire." The first phase would last six weeks and include the "withdrawal of Israeli forces from all populated areas of Gaza" and the "release of a number of hostages, including women, the elderly, the wounded in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners," the US president had said.
"What has changed is that Israeli forces are likely to stay in Gaza temporarily," when phase one of a deal starts, a diplomatic source said, namely in the strip of land on the Gaza-Egypt border, called the Philadelphi corridor, and in an area bisecting the strip, known as the Netzarim corridor, as reported by CNN.
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