The USA and several Arab countries are mediating between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.
Three anonymous sources participating in the talks tell the news agency AP that progress has been made regarding the terms of a ceasefire and the release of hostages, but an agreement has not yet been reached.
The talks have stalled time and again. Informants, primarily from the American side, have repeatedly stated over the past year that an agreement is near, only to have it fall through and the talks collapse.
Now, there is a "clear opportunity" for a ceasefire to be reached within a week, according to the USA's national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
Pressure is increasing on Hamas to say yes, he tells Bloomberg.
According to AP's sources, the coming days' negotiations may be decisive as several obstacles remain.
Terror-listed Hamas has previously demanded clearer guarantees from Israel regarding a military withdrawal from Gaza and a lasting ceasefire when and if the hostages are released.
Mixed Signals
But one source claims that a breakthrough has been made, that there is an agreement that can be presented to the parties.
Different signals are coming from Israel's government.
Israel is "working hard" to reach an agreement to facilitate the release of the dozens of people being held captive in Gaza, according to the country's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar.
Progress has been made in the negotiations on the release of the hostages. Israel really wants to get the hostages released and is working hard to secure an agreement, he says at a press conference.
But Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who belongs to the far-right within the government, warns that he will not support an agreement that stops the Israeli military operations in Gaza.
"Cleanse Gaza"
"The proposal for an agreement is a disaster for Israel's national security", he writes on X. His counter-proposal is for larger military operations in Gaza:
"Now is the time to intensify our efforts, and use all our power to secure and cleanse the Gaza Strip."
The USA's incoming president Donald Trump has sent an envoy, Steven Witkoff, who has participated in the talks in Qatar over the past few days.
President Joe Biden was informed of the developments by Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday. The current American government is represented on site by envoy Brett McGurk.
