The indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas, mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, are witnessing intensive movements to formulate a final agreement on a prisoner exchange deal and to stop the genocide that has been ongoing for 16 months in the Gaza Strip.

Over the past weeks, mediators have intensified their efforts to hold indirect meetings between Hamas and Israel, which has led to progress in the negotiations, with the details of the deal almost complete, according to Israeli media.

Israeli reports over the past 48 hours have broadcast a state of Israeli-American optimism, including in the corridors of the two administrations, the outgoing one headed by Joe Biden, and the elected one headed by Donald Trump, amid news of understandings regarding two stages of a possible deal.

Meanwhile, Tel Aviv continues to toughen its official position, with the prime minister's office asking ministers to stress in their statements to the media that "the war will continue until its goals are achieved, which include: returning all hostages, eliminating Hamas's military and governmental capabilities, removing the threat of terrorism from the Gaza Strip, and ensuring that residents of the north return to their homes safely."

In contrast, Biden administration officials expressed cautious optimism late Saturday about the hostage deal talks, after expressing doubts in recent days about the possibility of reaching an agreement.

Officials confirmed that there is progress in the talks, with the arrival of US envoy Brett McGurk in Doha. According to the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, negotiators aim to reach an agreement before Trump's inauguration in just eight days.

Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, who made a surprise visit to Israel after holding talks in Doha, also indicated the same expected timeline for the deal. The coordinated messages between the Biden administration and the Trump administration to Hamas show that there is coordination in the American position.

Yedioth Ahronoth quoted a senior official as saying that the proposed deal discusses the release of 33 Israeli detainees in the Gaza Strip, but the number of Palestinian prisoners who will be released in exchange is not yet known.

"We will only know when we know how many hostages are alive and how many are dead," he added, calling it "an important day."

In recent days, President Biden’s team has expressed doubts about the possibility of reaching a deal soon, but the situation has changed somewhat. Last night, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directed Mossad chief David Barnea, Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, army representative Nitzan Alon, and political adviser Ofir Felek to travel to Doha “to advance the push for a swap deal.” The Israeli delegation is expected to leave for the Qatari capital today.

The decision came after the Israeli delegation’s visit to Qatar was postponed several times, and was taken following a three-way call involving Netanyahu, Witkoff and McGurk. After a short stay in Israel and a meeting with Netanyahu, Trump’s envoy returned to Doha, where the Israeli delegation is expected to arrive during the day.

“There is optimism this time, and it seems like things are closer than ever,” a senior Israeli source said, but cautioned: “We’ve been in this situation before.” Meanwhile, ministers in Israel’s cabinet indicated they were completely cut off from the details of the talks on the potential deal.

The headquarters of the families of the Israeli prisoners praised the decision to send the negotiating delegation to Qatar, and called on not to "miss the opportunity." The headquarters addressed the members of the delegation, saying: "Work until the white smoke comes out, and return with the desired news - an agreement that guarantees the return of all the hostages; the living for recovery, and the bodies for a proper burial."

Yedioth Ahronoth quoted a senior official as saying last night that "there is gradual progress in the negotiations that began several weeks ago. In light of the developments, and after a long day of consultations, and a lengthy and detailed conversation (held by Netanyahu) with Witkov, in which the Minister of Defense, the heads of the security services, and Brett McGurk participated."

He added, "In this call, the details were delved into and the Israeli positions were clarified, and the Prime Minister issued his instructions to send the delegation to Doha. Now, efforts are escalating from the working level to the higher level of negotiators, who will be in direct contact" with the Israeli government leadership.

The Israeli official considered that "success depends on Hamas. Today we dealt with all the components of the deal, which is a complex deal consisting of many details. In order to sign and implement it, an agreement must be reached on all its components. We hope to get closer to completing the deal, but it is important to make clear that we have not arrived yet. The signing stage depends mainly on Hamas. All the components are on the table, and now they must take the next step."

He said the discussions include the release of 33 Israeli captives. “We are negotiating a list of 33 hostages, all of whom must be returned – the living and the dead. This is the first part of the deal. The negotiations deal with everyone, both the living and the dead, and include how to move from one stage to the next, keeping in mind that we need to get 98 hostages back in the end. Today there was a discussion about the parameters, because they are part of the deal components.”

Regarding the prisoners who will be released, the source said: “We are working on keys (for an exchange) to release a certain number in exchange for soldiers, non-soldier civilians, the elderly and the wounded. We will know the number of prisoners who will be released only when we know the number of living hostages, which Hamas has refused to clarify so far.”

"With the start of the ceasefire, Israel expects the hostages to be released immediately. The coordinator for prisoners and missing persons, Gal Hirsch, will meet with the head of the Red Cross, who will visit Israel this week, to discuss the details of the release of the hostages and the possibility of the Red Cross's participation in implementing the deal," he continued.

"The coming days will be crucial, as the senior Israeli team will work with Witkoff and McGurk. We are working very well with both the current and next US administrations, ensuring continuity of understanding. Both administrations are in complete agreement with us," the source added.

"There are legal procedures required before the deal is implemented - approval from the cabinet and the government, and then the petition process before the Supreme Court. The deal needs a few days to prepare, and everything depends on Hamas' decision," he said.

"We could implement the deal within days, but first we have to see how things develop in the coming days. We want to see that Hamas is ready to sign."