Israel and Hamas appear closer than they have been in months to agreeing to a ceasefire that could wind down the 14-month war in Gaza and bring home dozens of people held hostage there.

But the sides have come close before, only to have talks collapse over various disagreements. This round of negotiations also faces hurdles.

The agreement would take place in phases and include a halt in fighting, an exchange of captive Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, and a surge in aid to the besieged Gaza Strip, according to Egyptian, Hamas and American officials. The last phase would include the release of any remaining hostages, an end to the war and talks on reconstruction.

Although Israel and Hamas have expressed optimism that a deal is close, key sticking points remain over the exchange of hostages for prisoners and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, people involved in the talks say.

“They are working through the names of hostages who would come out in the first phase — the names of the prisoners that would be released as part of the exchange. And then some specific details about the disposition of Israeli forces during the ceasefire,” White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Wednesday on MSNBC's “Morning Joe."

Here’s a closer look at the key issues holding up a deal:

Hostage release

During its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, Hamas and other groups took about 250 people hostages and brought them to Gaza. A previous truce in November 2023 freed more than 100 hostages, while others have been rescued or their remains have been recovered over the past year.

Israel says about 100 hostages remain in Gaza — at least a third of whom it believes were killed during the Oct. 7 attack or died in captivity.

The warring sides are haggling over which hostages would be included in an initial release, according to the Egyptian and Hamas officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing ongoing negotiations. There have also been disputes about how many hostages will be included, Israeli media reported..

The first batch is expected to be made up mostly of women, older people and people with medical conditions.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also is facing growing pressure from the families of hostages to secure a deal that would release all of them at once. They fear the deal could break down or that loved ones who aren't immediately released could die in captivity.

Palestinian prisoners

As part of the deal, Israel is expected to free hundreds of imprisoned Palestinians, including dozens who were convicted in bloody attacks.

Israel has a history of lopsided prisoner releases, and hundreds were freed in the November 2023 deal. But the officials who spoke to the AP say the sides still disagree over the exact number and names of the prisoners to be freed. Hamas wants high-profile prisoners included.

Netanyahu's governing coalition includes hardliners who oppose such releases, with some even pledging to quit the government if too many concessions are made. They point to a 2011 prisoner release that included the former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, a mastermind of the Oct. 7 attacks who was killed by Israel in October.

Israeli media have also reported that there are differences over whether the more serious prisoners who are released will be exiled to third countries.

Palestinians returning home

The war has displaced an estimated 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people, according to U.N. estimates, with the hard-hit northern sector of the territory largely emptied of its prewar population.

During the first phase of the developing deal, Israel is expected to withdraw troops from Palestinian population centers and allow some of the displaced to return home. But the extent of the pullback and the number of people allowed to return must still be worked out, the officials say.

According to the Egyptian and Hamas officials, Israel is prepared to allow people to return north to Gaza City, the territory's largest city. But it does not want people to return farther north to areas close to the Israeli border.

Israeli troops remain active in these areas, battling what Israel says are pockets of insurgency. Israel appears concerned that militants could renew attacks from there if the displaced are allowed to return.

But critics say Israel has other intentions. Netanyahu has considered a controversial proposal by former generals to empty the north and cut it off from humanitarian aid as part of a plan to starve out any militants who remain there. Moshe Yaalon, a former Israeli defense minister, said Israel was carrying out ethnic cleansing in those areas of northern Gaza.

Netanyahu has also said Israel must maintain long-term control over a strategic strip of land along Gaza's border with Egypt, as well as the freedom for Israeli troops to operate against militants in the future. Hamas is demanding a full withdrawal as part of any ceasefire.

In an interview Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. remains hopeful that a deal can be finalized before President Joe Biden leaves office on Jan. 20.

“Everyone is pushing on this,” Blinken told MSNBC. “We want to get it over the finish line. We want to get the hostages home. We want to get a ceasefire so that people can finally have relief in Gaza.”

AfriPrime App link:  FREE to download...

https://www.amazon.com/Africircle-AfriPrime/dp/B0D2M3F2JT

Israel keeps up Gaza bombardment as ceasefire talks intensify

U.S. and Arab mediators are working around the clock to hammer out a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, sources close to the talks said, while in the Gaza Strip medics said Israeli strikes had killed 44 Palestinians on Thursday.

The mediators, at talks in Egypt and Qatar, are trying to forge a deal to pause the 14-month-old war in the Hamas-ruled enclave that would include a release of hostages seized from Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, along with Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Mediators had managed to narrow some gaps on previous sticking points but differences remained, the sources said.

In Gaza, medics said at least 13 Palestinians were killed overnight in separate Israeli airstrikes, including on two houses in Gaza City and a central camp.

Medics said an Israeli airstrike killed nine people near Beach refugee camp in Gaza City, while another killed four others at a housing project near Beit Lahiya in the north. There was no Israeli comment.

Later on Thursday, airstrikes killed at least 15 Palestinians in two shelters housing displaced families in eastern Gaza City's suburb of Tuffah, medics said.

Another Israeli airstrike killed at least three people after targeting a residential house in the Sabra suburb of Gaza City, medics said, bringing Thursday's death toll to 44.

The Israeli military said it struck Hamas militants operating in command and control complexes in areas that were previously used as the Al-Karama and Sha'ban Schools in Tuffah. It said Hamas used the complexes to plan and execute attacks against its forces.

Residents of Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, where the army has operated since October, said forces blew up clusters of houses overnight.

"The longer those talks last, the more destruction and death takes place in Gaza. Jabalia, Beit Hanoun, and Beit Lahiya are being wiped out, Rafah too," said Adel, 60, a resident of Jabalia, who is now displaced in Gaza City.

A report published by Medecins San Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) on Thursday said there were clear signs of ethnic cleansing in Israel's offensive as Palestinians were forcibly displaced and bombed.

"The signs of ethnic cleansing and the ongoing devastation —including mass killings, severe physical and mental health injuries, forced displacement, and impossible conditions of life for Palestinians under siege and bombardment — are undeniable," the aid group's head Christopher Lockyear said in the report.

"Palestinians have been killed in their homes and in hospital beds... People cannot find even the most basic necessities like food, clean water, medicines, and soap amid a punishing siege and blockade," MSF said.

There was no immediate Israeli comment on the MSF report but Israel has previously denied carrying out ethnic cleansing and says its campaign aims to wipe out Hamas and prevent it from regrouping.

Israel accuses the militant group of exploiting civilian infrastructure and the population as a human shield. Hamas denies this.

PHASED OR COMPREHENSIVE?

Sources close to the mediation efforts said Hamas had pushed for a one-package deal but Israel wanted a phased one. Talks are focused on a first-phase release of hostages, dead or alive, as well as a number of Palestinians jailed by Israel.

On Tuesday, the sides discussed the numbers and categories of those to be released, but things have yet to be finalized, said a source who spoke anonymously because of the sensitivity of the talks.

The source said one issue was Israel's demand to retain the right to act against any possible military threat from Gaza and the stationing of Israeli forces during phases of the deal.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday Israel will have security control over Gaza with full freedom of action after defeating Hamas.

Israel started its air and ground assault on Gaza after Hamas-led fighters attacked Israeli communities in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking over 250 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel says about 100 hostages are still being held, but it is unclear how many are alive.

Israel's campaign has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, displaced most of the 2.3 million population and reduced much of the coastal enclave to ruins.

On Thursday, Human Rights Watch said Israel had killed thousands of Palestinians in Gaza by denying them clean water which it says legally amounts to acts of genocide and extermination.

Israel's foreign ministry accused the rights group of lying, saying Israel had facilitated the continuous flow of water and humanitarian aid into Gaza since the start of the war despite constant attacks by Hamas.

AfriPrime App link:  FREE to download...

https://www.amazon.com/Africircle-AfriPrime/dp/B0D2M3F2JT