Qatar says Gaza ceasefire talks in "final stages"

The Gaza ceasefire negotiations being held in the Qatari capital of Doha have entered "final stages," with discussions on the final details of the agreement in progress, a spokesman for the country's foreign ministry said Tuesday.

Israel, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), and the mediators are finalizing the details of the ceasefire agreement, and an agreement would be reached "very soon," foreign ministry spokesman Majed bin Mohammed Al Ansari said at a press briefing.

"I can confirm that the talks are going on the highest level here in Doha, as we speak right now. We are anticipating updates from those involved in the meetings. We do believe that we are at a developed stage. We do believe that we are at the final stages. But obviously, until there is an announcement, there will be no announcement. And therefore we shouldn't be overexcited about what's happening right now, but certainly we are hopeful that this would lead very soon to an agreement," he said.

Ansari said that Qatar had submitted the final draft version of the ceasefire agreement to Israel and Hamas, and said he hoped that both sides would participate in the negotiations in a serious attitude, sign the agreement as soon as possible, and end the conflict and alleviate the suffering of the people in the Gaza Strip.

"The main reason why we are more optimistic right now, as I said, during the past months, there were underlying issues, major issues between the two parties unresolved. These issues were resolved during the talks in the past couple of weeks. And therefore, we have reached a point where the major issues that were preventing a deal from happening were addressed," he said.

The latest round of ceasefire negotiations resumed in Doha on Jan 3. Over the past months, the efforts by mediators from Egypt, Qatar, and the United States have failed to reach a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas since a truce, which lasted a week between November and December 2023, was negotiated.

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The U.S. dollar added to 9.21 Swedish Kronor from 9.1855 Swedish Kronor.