Ramadan Truce Between Israel And Hamas Gets Closer, Reports Say

TOPLINE

Mediators attempting to broker a truce agreement between Israel and Hamas to pause the fighting during Ramadan and release some of the hostages taken by Hamas have made progress on an agreement, multiple outlets reported Sunday.

KEY FACTS

The agreement would mean a pause in fighting for six weeks during the holy month Ramadan, which begins March 10, and would mean the exchange of about 40 of the 130 Israeli hostages held by Hamas, a senior Egyptian official told the Associated Press, for up to 300 Palestinian prisoners being held by Israel.

It also would mean hundreds of trucks filled with aid could reach Gaza, the official told The AP.

Intelligence chiefs briefed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet Saturday night after they returned from a meeting with U.S., Qatari and Egyptian mediators in Paris over the weekend.

During the meeting, the war cabinet voted to send a delegation to Qatar to continue discussing the potential agreement, the Times of Israel reported.

Hamas has yet to publicly comment on the reports of an updated agreement but senior Hamas leaders met with mediators in Egypt this week, NPR reported.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

At some point this week Qatar is expected to host continued discussions between Israel and Hamas in the hopes of finalizing a truce, Egyptian security sources told Reuters.

BIG NUMBER

More than 29,000. That’s the death toll in Gaza since the fighting began more than five months ago, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. More than 1,200 people have died in Israel since the fighting, mostly from the Oct. 7 attack, Israeli officials say.

KEY BACKGROUND

If the negotiators come to an agreement, this would be the second pause in fighting since the start of the war on Oct. 7. The last pause in fighting ended December 1 after Hamas and Israel agreed to a multi-day cease-fire in exchange for the release of more than 100 hostages by Hamas. Since then, the fighting has continued, more people have died and the international calls for a cease-fire, both temporary and permanent, have grown. Recently, the Biden administration has publicly advocated for a temporary cease-fire and the release of all hostages being held by Hamas. That came after the U.S. vetoed a United Nations resolution that called for an immediate cease-fire and hostage release deal between Hamas and Israel.