Turkish FM says sides are close to a Gaza ceasefire agreement

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ANKARA (AP) — Talks on bringing an end to the war in Gaza are on the verge of reaching a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Wednesday.

Turkish, Qatari, Egyptian and U.S. mediators are working to realize an American plan that calls for an immediate ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners.

“If an agreement is reached today, a ceasefire will be declared,” Fidan told a news conference in Ankara with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani.

Fidan earlier said that “a lot of progress has been achieved so far” in the negotiations. “What is good news is that the parties have showed great will for the release of the prisoners and the hostages,” he added.

All sides have expressed optimism for a deal to end the two-year war that has left tens of thousands of Palestinians dead and most of Gaza destroyed. But key parts of the peace plan still haven’t been agreed, including a requirement that Hamas disarm, the timing and extent of an Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza, and the creation of an international body to run the territory after Hamas steps down.

Fidan told reporters that technical details were “being discussed at the moment,” adding that “if the positive views are heard today, the necessary steps will be taken for the first part of the agreement.”

The two ministers also discussed security in Syria — an issue that neighboring Turkey takes a keen interest in.

Al-Shibani criticized the Kurdish-led and U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, for delaying the implementation of an agreement made in March for them to integrate into Syria’s new military. The SDF has recently clashed with security forces around the northern city of Aleppo.

“The SDF has taken it very slowly in making the right steps,” he said. “Any delay in terms of implementing this agreement will only serve for further losses and we will have huge trouble in fighting terrorism.”

Both al-Shibani and Fidan attacked Israel’s involvement in Syria, with the Syrian minister saying Israel’s “aggression still jeopardizes our safety and security.”

Tensions soared between Israel and Syria following the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar Assad in December, when Israeli forces seized control of the U.N.-patrolled buffer zone in Syria set up under the 1974 agreement and carried out airstrikes. Al-Shibani on Wednesday reiterated Syrian calls to return to the 1974 boundaries.

Israel stepped up its intervention when violence erupted in Syria’s Sweida province in July between Bedouin clans and government forces on one side and armed groups from the Druze religious minority on the other.