Qatar to hold press conference in Doha amid Gaza ceasefire talks

Qatar's Foreign Ministry will hold a news conference on Wednesday in Doha where the country has been hosting talks towards a Gaza ceasefire deal, a senior Qatari official said.

The negotiators appeared close to sealing a deal after 15 months of death and destruction in the war in Gaza between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

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Earlier, an invitation by Qatar's state news agency said the news conference would be hosted by Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who is also foreign minister.

The official declined to say what time the news conference would begin, apart from that it would held later on Wednesday evening.

Earlier, a Palestinian official, who asked not to be named, told Reuters that Hamas had given verbal approval to the ceasefire and hostage return proposal under negotiation in Qatar and was waiting for more information to give final written approval.

A senior Hamas official had told Reuters late on Tuesday it had not yet delivered its response because it was still waiting for Israel to submit maps showing how its forces would withdraw from Gaza.

Officials from mediators Qatar, Egypt and the US as well as Israel and Hamas said an agreement for a truce in the besieged enclave and release of hostages was closer than ever.

The Palestinian official said: "I am hopeful a deal can be signed tonight, latest tomorrow."

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