News - Middle East: A ceasefire deal between the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas and the Israeli regime is as close as “it has ever been,” a Qatari official says.

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said in a press conference on Tuesday that talks on the final details were underway in Doha.

"I can confirm that the talks are going on at the highest level here in Doha as we speak right now."

He said that "the negotiations are taking place on final details but we have ironed out the main obstacles."

"Today we are closest to any time in the past to a deal. The situation is still fluid but we are all upbeat."

"During the past months, there were underlying issues, major issues between the two parties unresolved. These issues were resolved during the talks in the past couple of weeks.”

“Therefore we have reached a point where the major issues that were preventing a deal from happening were addressed."

The Qatari official urged the international community to temper their expectations until a final deal is reached between Hamas and Israel.

This is not the first time that one of the lead negotiators, whether Egypt, Qatar, or the US, has hailed a breakthrough in the talks and the possibility of an imminent truce.

But a Palestinian source close to the talks told Reuters he expected the deal to be finalized on Tuesday if “all goes well.”

An Israeli official who asked to remain anonymous also said "real progress" has been made over the past few days in the ceasefire negotiations, and that the talks had entered a critical phase.

According to the details of the agreement, during the first phase of the deal Hamas will release 33 Israeli captives within 42 days of the ceasefire.

In exchange, the Israeli regime will release as of yet an unspecified number of Palestinian abductees.

The news came as the Israeli regime’s attacks killed at least 18 people overnight in Gaza, including four children and six women, Gaza health officials said on Tuesday.

Source: Press TV