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Hamas leader claims it is “close to reaching a truce agreement”

Chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau Ismail Haniyeh

21 November 2023 12:48 (UTC +04:00)

Hamas is “close to reaching a truce agreement” with Israel, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said in a statement posted on Telegram, APA reports.

Haniyeh’s statement comes after Hamas had delivered a response to mediators in Qatar.

“The movement delivered its response to the brothers in Qatar and the mediators, and we are close to reaching a truce agreement,” Haniyeh said.
Haniyeh did not provide additional details about the potential agreement.

The Hamas statement supports similar assertions from the White House. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Monday that negotiators are “getting close to the end” on the release of hostages held by Hamas – but he declined to elaborate on the details of a potential deal.

“I know that everybody's interested in the numbers and who they're going to be. We're working that through literally in real time with both sides. So, I think it's better if I just don't speculate about what that pool is going to look like. Obviously, we are laser focused on the American citizens that we know are being held hostage, and we want them out, all of them, everybody should be out now,” Kirby said.

In recent days, sources told CNN a possible deal to secure the release of some hostages and a temporary pause in fighting may be in sight, following weeks of negotiations between the United States, Israel and Hamas, mediated by Gulf state Qatar.