Israel and Hamas appeared close to an agreement to declare a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and release hostages held there after over 15 months of war, the Qatari government said Tuesday.

Mediators had “managed to minimize a lot of the disagreements between both parties,” Majed al-Ansari, the Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson, told reporters. The talks Tuesday were focused on “the final details of reaching an agreement,” he said.

The negotiations, mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, come after months of failed attempts to achieve a breakthrough. In recent weeks, officials familiar with the talks have voiced mounting hopes that an agreement was possible, spurred by a looming deadline: the end of President Joe Biden’s term and President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20.

Trump has warned that there would be “ALL HELL TO PAY” unless the hostages were freed by the time he became president. Officials in the Biden administration had been pressing for a deal that would become part of the departing president’s legacy.

If Hamas and Israel conclude a deal, it would bring some respite to Palestinians in Gaza, who have endured miserable conditions in displacement camps and relentless bombardments by Israel, and for the families of hostages abducted from Israel, who have worried for more than a year about the fate of their loved ones. A diplomat said the talks Tuesday were focusing on addressing outstanding issues, while a Palestinian in touch with Hamas officials said they would center on details of how to enact an agreement. Both spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy.

The emerging agreement, the diplomat said, was heavily inspired by previous proposals discussed in May and July.

Mediators and officials have repeatedly warned that even substantial progress could be dashed at the last minute. Israel and Hamas have held numerous rounds of negotiations over the past several months, each of which ultimately broke down in mutual recrimination.

“We believe that we are at the final stages, but until we have an announcement — there will be no announcement,” al-Ansari said, adding that there was no immediate timeline for signing the deal.

For over a year, international efforts have failed to end the war in Gaza, which was ignited by the October 2023 Hamas-led attack that killed around 1,200 people and saw 250 taken hostage to Gaza, according to Israeli authorities. Israel launched a military campaign against Hamas that destroyed large areas of the enclave and killed at least 45,000 people, according to Gaza health officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the delicate talks were continuing Tuesday but declined to comment further.

Israeli officials told reporters Monday night that they believed they were close to reaching an agreement. That optimism was echoed by Biden in a speech in which he declared that the ceasefire and hostage deal was on “the brink” of “finally coming to fruition.”

CIA Director William Burns and Brett McGurk, a senior White House official, have crisscrossed the Middle East, pressing for a breakthrough in the talks. Steve Witkoff, Trump’s pick for Middle East envoy, has also made trips to Qatar and Israel, meeting with top officials there.

The New York Times Services