The US said that they and the representatives of Israel, Egypt and Qatar agreed on the main points.
A possible deal for Hamas to free the hostages and end the war in Gaza was discussed in Paris by the United States and other countries on Sunday.
The US said that they and the representatives of Israel, Egypt and Qatar agreed on the main points of a hostage exchange and a temporary ceasefire.
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told CNN that the details were still being worked out and that Hamas would have to accept the deal through indirect talks with Qatar and Egypt.
The ceasefire talks continued in Doha with the participation of Hamas, according to Egyptian state media on Sunday. Hamas had captured about 250 people in its October 7 attack, of whom 130 are still in Gaza and 30 are presumed dead.
A similar deal in November after a week of fighting had released more than 100 hostages and 240 Palestinian prisoners.
The US, Qatar and Egypt are trying to broker a new deal as the international community urges a ceasefire. The Israeli offensive in Gaza has killed 1,160 people, mostly civilians, based on official Israeli data reported by AFP.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel was close to a “total victory” over Hamas and that a military operation in Rafah would take only weeks.
He told CBS that he hoped for a ceasefire agreement, but that he would proceed with the operation anyway if there was no deal.
“We have to do it because total victory is our goal and total victory is within reach, not at a distance of months, but of weeks, once we begin the operation,” he said.
