An official familiar with ceasefire deal negotiations between Israel and Hamas said there had been a breakthrough in discussions to end hostilities, and each side was taking a draft deal to their leaders for final approval. The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added the next 24 hours would be critical in agreeing a truce that would see the end of over a year of war between Israel and Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. This comes as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said a deal this week is "very close", adding he hoped to complete it before president-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated at the end of January. On Monday, four US and Arab mediators acknowledged a breakthrough had been made and that the next few days would be crucial for ending the 15 months of fighting that has killed thousands, devastated Gaza and destabilised the Middle East. A US official briefed on the negotiations said all sides are "closer than we've ever been, but it could still fall apart", acknowledging that there were a number of sticking points in the agreement between Israel and Hamas. US leaders, who have spent over a year trying to broker an agreement alongside Egypt and Qatar, have said they were on the verge of reaching a deal several times over the past year only for discussions to stall. The agreement has been held up by a number of contentious issues, including details on the withdrawal of Israeli troops and the exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners. Hamas has said it won't release a number of Israeli hostages held in Gaza without Israel withdrawing its troops. On the other side, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to keep fighting until "total victory" has been achieved over the militant group. The talks are said to involve a so-called "phased ceasefire" as Netanyahu has signalled he is only committed to the first phase of a partial hostage release in exchange for weekslong halt in fighting. The possibility of a lasting ceasefire would be negotiated after the first phase begins. Over the weekend, Netanyahu said he would send the director of the Mossad foreign intelligence agency to negotiations in Qatar — a concrete signal that talks had progressed. — Euronews
