WASHINGTON/CAIRO: An agreement to halt the 14-month-old war in Gaza and free hostages held in the Palestinian enclave could be signed in coming days with talks in Cairo making progress, sources briefed on the meeting said on Tuesday. Huge Zionist airstrikes killed extended families in homes in two parts of the northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, while tanks in the south pushed towards a humanitarian zone on the Mediterranean coast, forcing displaced families to take flight again.

The US administration, joined by mediators from Egypt and Qatar, have made intensive efforts in recent days to advance the talks before President Joe Biden leaves office next month. “We believe – and the (Zionists) have said this – that we’re getting closer, and no doubt about it, we believe that, but we also are cautious in our optimism,” White House spokesperson John Kirby said in an interview with Fox News. “We’ve been in this position before where we weren’t able to get it over the finish line.”

The sources said a ceasefire deal could be days away that would stop the fighting and return captives held by Hamas in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Zionist jails. Hamas said in a statement a deal was possible if the Zionist entity stopped setting new conditions. A Palestinian official close to the mediation efforts said negotiations were serious, with discussions underway about every word.

Zionist Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday that his country’s forces would be free to act in the Gaza Strip even after its war with Hamas ends. “After eliminating Hamas’ military and governmental capabilities in Gaza, (the Zionist entity) would have security control over Gaza with complete freedom of action” for the Zionist military, Katz said in a post on X, noting that it was his own “position”. Katz said the Zionist entity’s future control over Gaza should be “exactly like in Judea and Samaria”, the Zionist names for the West Bank which the Zionist entity has occupied since 1967 and where its forces conduct frequent raids.

Sources briefed on the meeting said Netanyahu was on his way to Cairo, but a statement from Netanyahu’s office said he had a meeting on Tuesday with senior military and security officials on Mount Hermon, a strategic plateau just inside Syria. Separately, his spokesperson messaged Zionist correspondents to say: “The prime minister is not in Cairo.”

Two Egyptian security sources said that Netanyahu was not in Cairo “at this moment” but that a meeting was underway to work through the remaining points, chief among them a Hamas demand for guarantees that any immediate deal would lead to a comprehensive agreement later. The Egyptian sources said they were making progress and felt that Tuesday night could be decisive in setting the next steps.

Netanyahu had been excused on Tuesday from giving previously scheduled testimony at his corruption trial. He met in the Zionist entity on Monday with Adam Boehler, designated by US President-elect Donald Trump to be his special envoy for hostage affairs. At a press conference in Florida on Monday, Trump reiterated his threat that “all hell is going to break out” if Hamas does not release its hostages by Jan 20, the day he takes office. Later, Trump said that if no ceasefire deal is reached by the time he takes office, “It’s not going to be pleasant.” He did not elaborate.

US and Zionist officials have expressed growing optimism that negotiations brokered by Egypt and Qatar could produce a deal by the end of the month but have also cautioned that the talks could fall through. Zionist negotiators were in Doha on Monday looking to bridge gaps between the Zionist entity and Hamas on a deal Biden outlined in May. There have been repeated rounds of talks over the past year, all of which have ended in failure, with the Zionist entity insisting on retaining a military presence in Gaza and Hamas refusing to release captives until the troops pulled out.

The Zionist campaign has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians in Gaza, displaced most of the 2.3 million population and reduced much of the coastal enclave to ruins. Zionist airstrikes killed extended families in homes in two parts of the northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, medics said. At least 10 people were confirmed killed in an airstrike on a house in Gaza City that destroyed the building, while further north in the town of Beit Lahia at least 15 people were believed to be dead or missing under the rubble of a house hit around dawn.

At least 10 other Palestinians were killed in separate strikes elsewhere in Gaza City and Beit Lahiya, medics said. The Zionist military said on Tuesday two soldiers were killed in the south of the Gaza Strip. In Beit Lahia, the Zionist entity has been operating since October in what it calls an offensive to prevent Hamas fighters from regrouping; Palestinians say the army aims to depopulate a buffer zone on the enclave’s northern edge.

In the southern part of the enclave, in Rafah near the border with Egypt, Zionist tanks pushed deeper towards the western area of Mawasi, forcing dozens of families to flee northwards towards Khan Younis, residents said. Hours later, residents said the army blew up several houses in the area and set several tents ablaze.

The Zionist entity has previously designated Mawasi, along the Mediterranean coast, as a humanitarian area. Thousands of Palestinians have lived there in tents for months, having obeyed Zionist orders to move there from other areas for safety. Footage circulating on social media showed lines of thick black and grey smoke rising from the area beside the tent encampment. – Reuters