Gaza ceasefire hopes rise as pressure grows on Hamas and Israel

There is fresh anticipation about the talks after several shifts, both politically and on the ground.

British Broadcasting CorporationWatch LiveHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifySportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessFuture of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsArts in MotionTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthVideoLiveAudioWeatherNewslettersThree things that could make a Gaza hostage deal more likelyAFPUS President-elect Donald Trump has threatened that "all hell" will break loose if the hostages are not released before he takes officeThe outline of the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal currently being discussed by Israel and Hamas at indirect talks in Doha has been on the table since May. So why is there fresh anticipation that it could work, after being frozen for eight months of the war?

There are several things that have shifted - both politically and on the ground.

The first is the election of Donald Trump as the next US president.

He has threatened that "all hell" would break loose if the hostages were not released before he took office on 20 January.

Hamas may well read that as a sign that even the flimsy brakes the Biden administration used to try and rein in the Israeli government would be lifted, though it is hard to imagine what that might mean for a territory already so shattered by 15 months of war.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn01dd51z08o

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