On Friday, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the agreement on a 60-day ceasefire in exchange for half of the living and half of the dead hostages can be a fact "within a few days".
But according to information to BBC, the two sides in the indirect talks are deeply divided on several issues. This includes, among other things, how the humanitarian aid to Gaza should be distributed. Hamas wants it to be distributed through UN agencies and international aid organizations, while Israel wants the aid to be distributed by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which is led by the USA with the support of Israel. GHF has been internationally criticized as the distributions have been marked by reports of chaos, violence, and deadly shootings.
The second point of contention concerns the extent of the Israeli military withdrawal. According to Israel, a military buffer zone in Gaza of about one by one kilometer would be maintained. But according to Hamas, the buffer zone is significantly larger than that, which is said to have been revealed after they requested and received a map of the area.
The Palestinian side now wants the USA to put pressure on Israel to make concessions. Otherwise, the talks in Doha may collapse.
"This process is hanging by a thread. If nothing changes quickly, we may be on our way to a breakdown," says a mediator to BBC.
