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.

Israel is willing to withdraw its troops from Gaza when all hostages have been released under a ceasefire deal with Hamas, The Telegraph has learnt.

Israel and Hamas appear to be inching closer to a phased ceasefire agreement, officials said Monday. However, a deal hasn’t been reached yet and there are a number of obstacles that could still scupper the talks in Qatar.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel has not received a draft proposal for a deal to halt the fighting in Gaza and return its hostages, an Israeli official said on Monday. Earlier, an official briefed on the negotiations said Qatar had handed Israel and Hamas a "final" draft of a ceasefire and hostage release agreement designed to end the war in Gaza.

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 (Jan 13).

The two parties have held indirect talks for over a year to end the military offensive in Gaza and exchange scores of Israeli and Palestinian captives.

Efforts to secure a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and release hostages are close but not yet finalized, an Israeli official told The Hill on Monday, after Reuters reported Qatar has handed a final deal to both sides.

By bnm Gulf bureau United States and Arab mediators have made significant progress toward brokering a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, with officials saying negotiations are 'closer than ever' though several hurdles remain,