Watch live as Antony Blinken makes a case for post-war reconstruction in Gaza on Tuesday, 14 January, as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas is as “close as it has ever been”, according to Qatari negotiators who have been hosting talks.
Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari said talks on the final details were underway.
He added: “Negotiations are taking place on final details but we have ironed out the main obstacles.
“Today we are closest to any time in the past to a deal. The situation is still fluid but we are all upbeat.
A Palestinian source close to the talks told Reuters he expected the deal to be finalised on Tuesday if “all goes well”.
An Israeli official said the first stage of the deal would see 33 hostages set free, including children, women – including some female soldiers – men above 50, and the wounded and sick.
Hamas killed around 1,200 people in a terror attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, and abducted another 250. Some 100 Israelis are still being held captive inside the Gaza Strip, and the military believes at least a third of them are dead.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were combatants.
