Gaza Cease-Fire Deal Close, Biden Says

Israel and Hamas are on the brink of a cease-fire deal, President Biden said Monday, moving closer to bridging a fundamental divide: Israel wants its hostages back and then continue the war, while Hamas doesn't want to release captives without ending the war.

Arab mediators and Israeli officials say there has been progress ahead of President-elect Donald Trump taking office next Monday. Under the first stage of the deal being discussed, Hamas would release up to 33 hostages in exchange for Israel releasing Palestinian prisoners and a pause in fighting, Israeli and Arab officials said.

In an important concession, Hamas has accepted verbal guarantees from the U.S. and others that Israel would then continue negotiating stages of a deal to permanently end fighting, mediators said.

"We're pressing hard to close this," Biden told reporters.

The hostages and their families "deserve to be reunited." Officials on all sides said they were more optimistic about a deal now than they have been in weeks, though previous moments where agreements seemed close have ended in disappointment.

But both sides seem galvanized by the prospect of Trump's return to office. The incoming president said a week ago that "all hell will break out in the Middle East" if the hostages aren't released by the time he takes office. He hasn't explained what he means.

Asked what turned the tide, an Israeli official said: "The Trump effect." Whether the deal is completed before Trump takes office, or after, "Trump is going to get credit either way," the official said.

Trump's designated Middle East envoy, real-estate executive Steve Witkoff, has been in the region for talks toward a deal,including a meeting in Israel with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Israeli official said Witkoff has been working well with Biden's top Middle East adviser, Brett McGurk.

"We are close to a deal and it can get done this week," U.S. national-security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Monday.

Arab mediators and Israeli officials say there are gaps to be bridged. The Israeli official said negotiations were "still not in the stage of final closure."

A deal would at least pause the war triggered by the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attacks that left around 1,200 dead and some 250 people taken hostage, while freeing some of the hostages who are still being held in Gaza.

More than 46,000 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip during the war, according to Palestinian health authorities, who don't say how many were combatants.

Hamas also has been isolated by Israel's battering of Hezbollah, which led to a deal that halted the Lebanese militia's attacks, and the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Both, like Hamas, were supported by Iran.

The first stage of the deal under consideration would pause fighting and allow for the release of some Palestinian prisoners in Israel in exchange for the release of 33 hostages being held in Gaza.

The hostages to be released would include women, children, people with severe injuries and those above the age of 50, according to a draft of the deal seen by The Wall Street Journal. Hamas would also hand over dead bodies .

The militant group agreed Palestinians released from long jail terms would leave the Palestinian territories and live in exile abroad with their families.

Hamas also accepted verbal guarantees from the U.S., Qatar, Egypt and Turkey that Israel would continue negotiations for a permanent ceasefire after the expiration of the first phase of the deal, Arab mediators said.

As part of the proposed agreement, Israeli forces would remain in some parts of Gaza when the fighting stops but would eventually withdraw from the corridor along Gaza's border with Egypt and another that bisects the Gaza Strip. Hamas agreed to put off resolving some differences with Israel to the second phase of the deal, including over the buffer zones Israel wants to maintain along the eastern and northern edges of Gaza, Arab mediators said.

A second stage of the deal for the release of the last living hostages and the bodies of the rest would begin to be negotiated 16 days into the agreement, according of the draft.

Hamas hasn't yet provided information on the condition of the hostages expected to be released in the first and second phases, according to Arab mediators. Unarmed Palestinians would also be allowed to return to northern Gaza during the first phase of the deal.

A deal would come as a relief to the families of the nearly 100 hostages still held in Gaza, though over 30 have been confirmed dead by Israel. It would also help the enclave's population, which has faced months of displacement and deprivation.