Three officials acknowledged progress has been made and said the coming days would be critical for ending more than 15 months of fighting that has destabilized the Middle East.

Mediator Qatar has handed Israel and Hamas a "final" draft of a ceasefire and hostage release agreement designed to end the war in Gaza, an official briefed on the negotiations told Reuters on Monday.

Israel and Hamas have been presented with a “final” draft of a ceasefire agreement that would end the war in Gaza and free hostages...

Amid reports that Israel has conveyed the final ceasefire-hostage release deal’s proposal to Hamas, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar has said that ‘progress was made’ in the talks and said that the ball was in Hamas’ court.

Hamas stood by its demand on Tuesday that Israel fully end its assault on Gaza under any deal to release hostages, and said U.S. President-elect Donald Trump was rash to say there would be "hell to pay" unless they go free by his Jan.

Israel says Hamas has not provided any information about the status of those 34 hostages, dampening any notion that the endorsement is a step toward a deal to stop the war.

The protest comes on the same day that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was sending the director of the Mossad foreign intelligence agency to ceasefire talks in Doha.View on euronews

We are close to announcing an agreement and a prisoner exchange,” said a source claiming to be familiar with the negotiations, “but this hinges on Israel’s awaited response.

Gaza Hamas has softened its stance on some of its core conditions for a ceasefire with Israel in Gaza, following an intensified push by mediators to reach a deal, sources close to the negotiations told The National on Saturday.