Key mediator Qatar said negotiations for a Gaza truce and hostage release deal were in their "final stages" on Tuesday, adding that it was hopeful an agreement could be reached "very soon".

Qatar, Egypt and the United States have stepped up efforts to broker a ceasefire to enable the release of hostages held in Gaza since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

On Monday, US President Joe Biden said a deal was "on the brink" of being finalised, just days before the inauguration of his successor, Donald Trump.

On Tuesday, Qatar foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said negotiations were in their "final stages".

"We do believe that we are at the final stages... certainly we are hopeful that this would lead very soon to an agreement," Ansari said, adding "until there is an announcement... we shouldn't be over-excited about what's happening right now".

"We have reached a point where the major issues that were preventing a deal from happening were addressed," he told a news conference.

Hamas's October 7 attack, the deadliest in Israel's history, resulted in the deaths of 1,210........

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