Arab - US Mediators Strive For Ceasefire And Hostage Exchange In Gaza To Be Agreed Immediately

Israeli tanks operate in the Gaza Strip. (Source: Israel Defense Forces)

JAKARTA - Arab mediators and the United States continue to seek to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas to stop the 14-month war in the Gaza Strip and cause the death toll of more than 45 thousand.

The US government, along with mediators from Egypt and Qatar, has made intensive efforts in recent days to advance talks before President Joe Biden leaves office next month.

A Palestinian official close to the negotiations said on Wednesday the mediators had narrowed the gap in most of the agreement's clauses.

He said Israel had put forward Hamas' rejected terms but would not explain them further.

On Tuesday, sources close to negotiations in Cairo, Egypt said an agreement could be signed in the coming days regarding the ceasefire and release of hostages detained in Gaza, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners detained by Israel.

In Jerusalem, Israeli President Isaac Herzog met Adam Boehler, US President-elect Donald Trump's special envoy for hostage-taking.

Meanwhile, CIA Director William Burns is scheduled to be in Doha on Wednesday for talks with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani to bridge the remaining gap between Israel and Hamas, sources with other knowledge said.

Israeli negotiators were in Doha on Monday to bridge the gap between Israel and Hamas over President Biden's ruling agreement in May.

The latest conflict in Gaza broke out on October 7, 2023, after militants led by Hamas attacked Israel's southern region, leaving about 1,200 people dead and more than 250 kidnapped as hostages.

It was responded to by a blockade campaign, air strikes and ground operations carried out by the Israeli military in response to the Palestinian enclave.

Separately, Gaza's medical authorities confirmed on Wednesday that the death toll from Palestine since the latest conflict there broke out on October 7, 2023 has increased to 45,097 people. Meanwhile, the number of injured victims was reported to have reached 107,244 people. The majority of victims were women and children, quoted from WAFA.