Qatar says Gaza talks in 'final stages', deal possible 'very soon'

Negotiations in Doha for a Gaza truce and hostage release deal are in their "final stages", says Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari in a press conference.

Qatar, Egypt and the United States have stepped up efforts to broker a ceasefire to enable the release of hostages held in Gaza since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,210 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.

Israel's retaliatory campaign in Gaza has killed 46,645 people, a majority of them civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, figures that the UN considers reliable.