Doha (AFP): Hamas has approved a Gaza truce deal that includes the release of hostages and a complete ceasefire from both sides, sources close to the Palestinian side confirmed on Wednesday.
The development comes after mediator Qatar expressed optimism that an agreement to put an end to this deadliest Middle East war would be reached soon.
Efforts have been underway to end this conflict that has so far killed nearly 47,000 Palestinians for months, but they are speeding up as the Inauguration of the newly-elected US President Donald Trump is approaching.
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Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said on Tuesday that the negotiations had entered the final round, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling a meeting of his top security officials late that night to discuss the truce deal.
According to AFP, two Palestinian sources had confirmed that Hamas and its ally Islamic Jihad had approved the terms of the ceasefire deal.
“The resistance factions have reached a consensus and informed the mediators of the development.
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For over 14 months, the Palestinian people have endured a relentless assault on their lives, rights, and dignity that resulted in the killing of more than 46,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children as well as the uprooting of over 90 percent of Gaza’s 2.1 million population.
Nearly 160,000 housing units have been destroyed, leaving almost the whole population homeless.