US and Israel are close to closing the Gaza peace deal pushed by Trump

After President Donald Trump said Sunday that a Gaza peace deal is in its "final stages," with Israel and Hamas on notice of the negotiations, White House envoy Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a meeting and now the US and Israel are "very close" to an understanding on Trump's plan to end the war in the enclave.

The information was leaked by a senior U.S. official to Axios, which also reported that the go-ahead from Hamas is still missing.

"The Arab countries were fantastic to work with on this. Hamas is coming with them. They have great respect for the Arab world," Trump said earlier. "The Arab world wants peace, Israel wants peace and Bibi wants peace."

"If we get this done, it will be a great day for Israel and for the Middle East. It will be the first chance for real peace in the Middle East. But we have to get it done first," he said.

What does the draft agreement say?

According to Axios, the outline of the agreement—a "21-point plan" drawn up by Witkoff and Kushner with input from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, France and the United Kingdom—combines various proposals discussed over the past year and rests on principles such as: permanent ceasefire; release of all hostages within 48 hours; gradual Israeli withdrawal from all of Gaza; release of Palestinian prisoners; post-war governance without Hamas through an international-Arab mechanism with a Palestinian Authority (PA) presence and a local technocratic government; mixed security force (Palestinians and troops from Arab/Muslim countries); regional funding for administration and reconstruction; Hamas disarmament and demilitarization (including tunnels); amnesty for members who renounce violence and safe conduct for those who do not; no annexations in the West Bank and Gaza; and a credible path to Palestinian statehood conditional on PA reforms.

What remains unresolved?

Two gaps persist, for now, between Washington and Jerusalem: the finality and binding nature of the Hamas disarmament clause, and the role to be occupied by the Palestinian Authority in Gaza. Netanyahu, according to Axios, has called the PA's participation a "red line," although the parties have negotiated amendments to the text in recent days.

Hamas, meanwhile, affirmed Sunday that it has received no new proposals from the Qatari and Egyptian mediators and that talks have been suspended since the failed attack on its leadership in Doha three weeks ago.

"Hamas reaffirms its readiness to study any proposals it receives from the mediators with full positivity and responsibility, in a manner that preserves the national rights of our people," Hamas said.

Despite the statement, the Arab mediators reported that the terrorist group might be willing to accept the agreement put forward by the U.S..