The “breakthrough” between Israel and Hamas raises hopes of a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip

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US-led mediators have sent the final draft of a ceasefire proposal to Israel and Hamas after a “breakthrough” in talks on a deal to end the war in Gaza and release hostages.

People familiar with the matter said it brought the warring parties closer than ever to ending the 15-month conflict since an earlier attempt to reach a deal failed at least in July.

“The final deal is now up to all sides for approval,” said a diplomat briefed on the talks in Doha, adding that a “breakthrough” had been reached around midnight on Monday. “The next 24 hours will be crucial in completing the deal.”

It came after a spate of diplomatic spats between US President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Israeli intelligence chief David Barnea and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani.

The United States, Qatar and Egypt have been struggling for months to reach an agreement to end the conflict and release about 100 hostages held by Hamas in the besieged strip, more than a third of whom are believed to be no longer alive.

But talks gained momentum after the election of Trump, who had repeatedly called for the release of all hostages before his inauguration on January 20. He warned that otherwise there would be “hell to pay.”

A person familiar with the recent talks said: “We are 98 percent close.”

Negotiators have previously expressed hope that they would move closer to an agreement, but those hopes were dashed by Israel and Hamas, which refused to make the necessary concessions to bring a deal across the border.

But US President Joe Biden said on Monday that “we are on the verge” of a hostage-taking ceasefire “finally happening”.

U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said it was a “crucial point in the negotiations,” adding: “We are close to an agreement and it can be finalized this week.”

The mediators must now wait for answers from the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Hamas leadership.

In a statement, senior Hamas officials said they stressed in talks with a senior Turkish official that the Palestinian militant group was “ready to reach an agreement to end the war on Gaza.”

A second person familiar with the talks said Israel was waiting for Hamas’ leadership to approve the latest proposal before the parties “enter final negotiations.”

A change in Netanyahu’s position was because ending the war had become a priority for Trump, the person added, saying: “The only difference is Trump.” Netanyahu wants to join Trump” and make a deal.

Israeli officials said mediators were trying to negotiate a multi-stage agreement to end the conflict, which erupted after Hamas militants rampaged across southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages.

Israel’s thunderous retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed more than 46,000 people and turned much of the besieged strip into wasteland, according to Palestinian officials.

Disagreements between the two sides included where Israeli troops would be moved, the return of displaced Palestinians to the north of the Strip and how many and what category of Palestinian prisoners would be released in exchange for hostages.

Israel has also demanded that Hamas find out which hostages are still alive.

Hamas has insisted that any agreement ends with a permanent ceasefire and a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, something Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected.

The latest talks were based on the multi-stage proposal that would lead to an initial six- to eight-week ceasefire in which about 34 hostages, including women, the elderly and the wounded, would be released.

In return, several hundred Palestinian prisoners would be released from Israeli prisons.

Netanyahu is expected to face opposition from far-right allies in his ruling coalition who oppose ending the war and releasing Palestinians convicted of terror crimes. Analysts believe the prime minister has enough votes to approve a deal.

Far-right ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have previously threatened to topple Netanyahu’s government if a deal is reached.

People familiar with the matter believe their resistance was key to previous rounds of talks failing.

Smotrich, Israel’s finance minister, said Monday that an impending deal would be a “disaster” and “capitulation.”

He called on Israel to “conquer and cleanse the entire Strip” and “open the gates of hell over Gaza” until Hamas surrendered and released the hostages.

Netanyahu met with both Ben-Gvir and Smotrich on Sunday to persuade them not to leave the government over a ceasefire agreement.