A ceasefire deal in Gaza is being finalized, a Palestinian official told the BBC

The terms of a deal between Israel and Hamas to end the ceasefire in Gaza and release hostages are being finalised, a Palestinian official familiar with the talks has told the BBC.

It comes as White House National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, said a deal to end the kidnapping deal could be done “this week”.

An Israeli official also told the Reuters news agency that the talks were at “advanced stages”, with an agreement likely to be “hours, days or more”.

US President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sundayand Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani of Qatar – who is the mediator of the talks – on Monday.

Sullivan said Biden should have spoken to Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi.

The latest development comes as Netanyahu faces strong opposition to a potential deal from his ruling coalition. Ten members of the far-right, including members of Netanyahu’s own Likud party, sent him a letter opposing the deal.

A Palestinian official told the BBC that Hamas and Israeli officials were holding indirect talks in the same building on Monday.

Disclosing other possible details of the deal, the official said “discussions with technical details have taken a long time”.

Both sides agreed that Hamas would release three hostages on the first day of the deal, after which Israel would begin withdrawing troops from the occupied territories.

Seven days later, Hamas would release four more hostages, and Israel would allow displaced people from the south to return to the north, but only on foot via the coastal road. Cars, animal-drawn carts, and trucks will be allowed to cross the corridor near Salah al-Din Road, under the supervision of an X-ray machine operated by the Qatari-Egyptian security team.

The agreement includes provisions for Israeli soldiers to remain in the country Philadelphia corridor and maintain a buffer zone of 800 meters along the eastern and northern borders during the first phase, which will last 42 days.

Israel also agreed to release 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, including an estimated 190 serving sentences of 15 years or more. In exchange, Hamas will release 34 hostages.

Negotiations for the second and third phase of the agreement will begin on the 16th to stop the conflict.

Meanwhile, the Gaza Defense Ministry reported that a wave of Israeli attacks on Gaza City on Monday killed more than 50 people.

“They bombed schools, homes and even public gatherings,” civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.

The Israeli military said it was looking into the reports. Separately, it said five soldiers were killed on Monday in the northern Gaza Strip.

The war was started by a Hamas attack in southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which around 1,200 people were killed and another 251 were taken to Gaza as hostages.

Israel launched an attack on Gaza to destroy Hamas.

The Hamas-run Health Department in Gaza says more than 46,500 people have been killed during the war.

Israel says 94 hostages remain in Gaza, 34 of whom are believed to be dead, along with four other Israelis who were captured before the war, two of whom have died.