The Times of Israel reports: “Israeli diplomatic officials said on Monday evening that Israel was in the ‘advanced stages of the negotiations’ with Hamas for a ceasefire deal that would see the terror group release some of the hostages it has been holding in Gaza since October 7, 2023, and ending more than 15 months of war.

Briefing military and diplomatic reporters, the officials said there had been progress in the talks in Doha, which are being coordinated by mediator countries Qatar and Egypt and the outgoing and incoming US administrations, but stressed that ‘the deal is not finalized.’

According to the Israeli officials, the progress in the negotiations came as a result of the fall of the Iranian-led Axis in the Middle East, with the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria and the defeat of Hezbollah in Lebanon, which led to more pressure on Hamas.

The officials also said that pressure and threats from incoming US President-elect Donald Trump had helped bring Hamas to the table, and they stressed that Israel was working with both teams, including Biden envoy Brett McGurk and Trump official Steve Witkoff, and that the administrations were also coordinating with each other…”