The outgoing Biden administration will deliver to President-elect Donald Trump's team a plan for post-war governance of Gaza, including details of an interim security mission involving international forces and Palestinians, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday.
In an address to the Atlantic Council in Washington, where he outlined the plan, Blinken said a reformed Palestinian Authority would govern Gaza under the plan and would invite international partners to help establish and run an interim administration for the enclave.
As a reminder, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said he will not allow the Palestinian Authority to govern the Gaza Strip in post-war period.
Earlier, Israeli far-right Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir threatened to quit Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government if he agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza and a hostage release deal negotiated in Qatar.
Negotiators met in Qatar on Tuesday, hoping to agree on final details of a ceasefire in Gaza, with all mediators and the warring parties describing the deal as closer than ever.
More than six hours after the talks began, there was still no word on the outcome.
Qatar's Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari told a news conference that negotiations on the final details were underway after both sides were presented with a text. US President Joe Biden, whose administration is participating along with an envoy from President-elect Donald Trump, said a deal was close.
"Hamas" said the talks were in their final stages and that it hoped the round of talks would lead to a deal brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the United States.
The militant group "Islamic Jihad", which is separate from "Hamas" and also holds hostages in Gaza, said it was sending a high-ranking delegation to arrive in Doha on Tuesday night to participate in final negotiations on a ceasefire agreement.
Both sides have engaged in principle for months with the prospect of a ceasefire, accompanied by a swap of the remaining hostages for detainees. But previous talks have failed, with "Hamas" rejected any deal that did not lead to a permanent end to the war, while Israel said it would not end the war until "Hamas" was defeated.
Meanwhile, fighting has raged, focused in recent months on the northern edge of Gaza, where Israel says its forces are trying to prevent Hamas from regrouping and Palestinians say the Israelis are trying to permanently depopulate a buffer zone. Nighttime Israeli strikes have continued throughout the enclave.
Health authorities in Gaza said on Tuesday that Israeli strikes had killed at least 27 Palestinians in the past day, including a Gaza journalist. One of those attacks killed 10 people in a house in Khan Younis, south of the enclave. Another killed nine people in a tent camp in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza.