Aha Dua Permata: Hamas says ‘approaching truce’ deal with Israel

Tuesday 21 November 2023

Hamas says ‘approaching truce’ deal with Israel

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said on Tuesday his movement was nearing a truce agreement with Israel, according to a statement posted on Telegram.

"We are close to reaching a deal on a truce," Haniyeh said, according to the post.

Negotiators have been working to seal a deal to allow the release of around 240 mostly Israeli hostages seized on October 7, during the deadliest assault on Israel in its history.

Hamas fighters also killed around 1,200 people during their cross-border assault, most of them civilians.

According to the Hamas government in Gaza, the war has killed more than 13,300 people, thousands of them children.

Thousands of buildings, including hospitals, mosques, and churches, have also been damaged or destroyed in Israel’s relentless air and ground attacks on the besieged enclave.

An Israeli blockade has also cut Gaza off from fuel, electricity, and water supplies, and reduced aid deliveries to a small trickle.

The Israeli death toll is around 1,200, according to official figures.

Tel Aviv has so far rejected growing calls for a cease-fire until the release of hostages held by Hamas.

Intense negotiations mediated by Qatar, where Hamas has a political office and where Haniyeh is based, have been under way.

Qatar's prime minister said Sunday that a deal to free some of the hostages in return for a temporary ceasefire hinged on "minor" practical issues.