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Hamas has accepted a draft agreement for聽 and the release of dozens of hostages, two officials involved in the talks said Tuesday. Mediator Qatar said Israel and the Palestinian militant group were at the “closest point” yet to sealing a deal that would bring them a step closer to ending the war.

The Associated Press obtained a copy of the proposed agreement, and an Egyptian official and a Hamas official confirmed its authenticity. An Israeli official said progress has been made, but the details are being finalized. The three-phase plan would need to be submitted to the Israeli Cabinet for final approval.

All three officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the talks.

The U.S., Egypt and Qatar have spent the past year trying to mediate an end the 15-month war and secure the release of dozens of hostages captured in 聽that triggered it. Some 100 people are still captive inside Gaza, and the military believes at least a third are dead.

More on Hamas-Israel ceasefire: Progress made in talks over Israel-Hamas ceasefire and hostage release, officials say

Any deal is expected to pause the fighting and bring hopes for winding down the most deadly and聽聽they鈥檝e ever fought, a conflict that has聽听补苍诲听.

It would bring relief to the聽, where Israel鈥檚 offensive聽聽and displaced around 90% of Gaza鈥檚 population of 2.3 million, many of them聽. Meanwhile, dozens of Israeli hostages would be reunited with loved ones.

Officials have 聽before, only for negotiations to stall. But they are now聽聽that they can conclude an agreement ahead of the Jan. 20 inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, whose Mideast envoy has joined the negotiations.

Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari told a weekly briefing Tuesday that the negotiations were productive, without details.

“Today, we are at the closest point ever to having a deal,” he said.

Hamas said in a statement that negotiations had reached their “final stage.”

In the Oct. 7 attack, Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted another 250. Around half those hostages were freed during a brief ceasefire in November 2023.

Israel鈥檚 retaliatory offensive has killed over 46,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza鈥檚 Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were combatants.

Israeli strikes across Gaza overnight and into Tuesday killed at least 18 Palestinians, including two women and four children, according to local health officials, who said one woman was pregnant and the baby died as well.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Israel says it only targets militants and accuses them of hiding among civilians.

A three-phase agreement

罢丑别听聽鈥� based on a framework聽聽and endorsed by the U.N. Security Council 鈥� would begin with the release of 33 hostages over a six-week period, including women, children, older adults and wounded civilians in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian women and children imprisoned by Israel.

Among the 33 would be five female Israeli soldiers, each to be released in exchange for 50 Palestinian prisoners, including 30 militants who are serving life sentences.

The Israeli official said Israel assumes most of the 33 are alive.

More on the Hamas-Israel conflict: Israel says it has killed Hamas leader Yayha Sinwar in Gaza

During this 42-day phase, Israeli forces would withdraw from population centers, Palestinians could start聽聽and there would be a surge of humanitarian aid, with some 600 trucks entering each day.

Details of the second phase still must be negotiated during the first. Those details remain difficult to resolve 鈥� and the deal does not include written guarantees that the ceasefire will continue until a deal is reached. That means Israel could resume its military campaign after the first phase ends.

The Israeli official said “detailed negotiations” on the second phase will begin during the first. He said Israel will retain some “assets” throughout negotiations, referring to a military presence, and would not leave the Gaza Strip until all hostages are home.

The three mediators have given Hamas verbal guarantees that negotiations will continue as planned and that they will press for a deal to implement the second and third phases before the end of the first, the Egyptian official said.

The deal would allow Israel throughout the first phase to remain in control of the聽, the band of territory along Gaza鈥檚 border with Egypt, which Hamas had initially demanded Israel withdraw from. Israel would withdraw from the Netzarim corridor, a belt across central Gaza where it had sought a mechanism for searching Palestinians for arms when they return to the territory鈥檚 north.

In the second phase, Hamas would release the remaining living captives, mainly male soldiers, in exchange for more prisoners and the 鈥渃omplete withdrawal鈥� of Israeli forces from Gaza, according to the draft agreement.

Hamas has said it will not free the remaining hostages without an end to the war and a complete Israeli withdrawal, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed in the past to resume fighting until Hamas鈥� military and governing capabilities are eliminated.

Unless an alternative government for Gaza is worked out in those talks, it could leave Hamas in charge of the territory.

In a third phase, the bodies of remaining hostages would be returned in exchange for a three- to five-year reconstruction plan for Gaza under international supervision.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will make a last-minute case Tuesday for a plan for Gaza鈥檚 postwar reconstruction and governance, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to preview the speech. The proposal outlines how Gaza would be run without Hamas in charge.

Growing pressure ahead of Trump鈥檚 inauguration

Israel and Hamas have come under renewed pressure to halt the war before Trump鈥檚 inauguration next week. His Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, recently joined U.S., Egyptian and Qatari mediators in the Gulf country鈥檚 capital, Doha.

Trump said late Monday that a ceasefire was “very close.” He told the American cable channel Newsmax that 鈥淚 understand … there鈥檚 been a handshake and they are getting it finished 鈥� and maybe by the end of the week.鈥�

Hamas has blamed Israel for repeated setbacks in the negotiations, saying that on more than one occasion, it had accepted a proposal from mediators only to see Israel reject it or launch a new military operation. Israel and its close ally the United States have blamed setbacks on Hamas.

Hamas attack survivor: 鈥榃e knew it was Hamas鈥� because few could cause such carnage

Dozens of protesters, including relatives of hostages, formed a human chain Tuesday outside Israel鈥檚 parliament, demanding the deal be sealed.

“This is the chance, we can鈥檛 let it go until they are all here with us,” said Shay Dickmann, whose cousin in Gaza has been declared dead by the military.

In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, families of Palestinian prisoners gathered as well. “I tell the mothers of the prisoners to put their trust in the almighty and that relief is near, God willing,” said the mother of one prisoner, Intisar Bayoud.

This story has been updated to correct that some 100 people are still being held captive in Gaza, including foreign nationals, not 100 Israelis.

Shurafa reported from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip. Associated Press writers Josef Federman in Jerusalem, Matthew Lee in Washington and Natalie Melzer in Nahariya, Israel, contributed to this report.