People check the destruction after an Israeli strike at the Al-Farabi school  sheltering a number of displaced people, in Gaza City on Wednesday —AFP

Agencies DOHA/CAIRO/JERUSALEM

Negotiators were trying to hammer out the final details of a complex, phased ceasefire in Gaza on Wednesday after marathon talks in Qatar with   US  and Egyptian leaders promised to stay in close contact about a deal over the coming hours.

More than eight hours of talks in Doha had fuelled optimism. Officials from Qatar, Egypt and the US. as well as Israel and Hamas said on Tuesday that an agreement for a truce in the besieged Palestinian enclave and the release of hostages was closer than ever.

But a senior Hamas official told Reuters late on Tuesday that the Palestinian group had not yet delivered its response because it was still waiting for Israel to submit maps, showing how its forces would withdraw from Gaza.

Previous ceasefire efforts have stalled on a fundamental disagreement: Hamas rejected any deal that stopped short of bringing a permanent end to the war, while Israel said it would not end the conflict until Hamas is dismantled.

LATEST DRAFT

If successful, the planned phased ceasefire could halt fighting that has decimated Gaza, killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, made most of the enclave's population homeless and is still killing dozens a day.

That in turn could ease tensions across the wider Middle East, where the war has fuelled conflict in the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq, and raised fears of all-out war between Israel and Iran.

The latest draft deal is complicated and sensitive. Under its terms, the first steps would feature a six-week initial ceasefire. The plan also includes a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from central Gaza and the return of displaced Palestinians to north Gaza. The deal would also require Hamas to release 33 Israeli hostages as the first  step along with other steps in the first 16 days before the second step is taken.

Even if the warring sides agree to the deal on the table, that agreement still needs further negotiation before there is a final ceasefire and the release of all the hostages

If  all goes smoothly, the Palestinians, Arab states and Israel still need to agree on a vision for post-war Gaza, a massive task involving security guarantees for Israel and billions of dollars in investment for rebuilding.

Qatar's foreign ministry spokesperson, Majed Al-Ansari, said on Tuesday that both sides were presented with a text and talks on the last details were underway. Hamas said the talks had reached the final steps and it hoped this round of negotiations would lead to a deal.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Tuesday he believed a majority of Israel's coalition government would support a Gaza deal if one is finally agreed, despite vocal opposition from hardline nationalist parties in the coalition.

ISRAELI ATTACKS

Despite the efforts to reach a ceasefire, the Israeli military, the Shin Bet internal intelligence agency and the air force attacked about 50 targets throughout Gaza over the last 24 hours, Shin Bet and the military said in a statement on Wednesday.