Palestinian resistance movement Hamas said talks in Qatar Tuesday aimed at a truce and hostage-prisoner exchange in Gaza were "serious and positive"."Hamas affirms that, in light of the serious and positive discussions taking place Wednesday in Doha under the auspices of our Qatari and Egyptian brothers, reaching an agreement for a ceasefire and a prisoner exchange is possible if the occupation ceases to impose new conditions," the Palestinian group said in a statement.Qatar, along with the United States and Egypt, has been mediating between Israel and Hamas for months in the quest for a Gaza truce and hostage release.On Monday, Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israeli negotiators had "not been this close to an agreement" since the November 2023 truce.Another source close to Hamas said: "Everything indicates that we are getting closer to an agreement, I expect before (US president-elect Donald) Trump's inauguration" on January 20.Mohamed al-Hind, the deputy head of Hamas ally Islamic Jihad, said his group, which is believed to hold some of the hostages still captive in Gaza, had met with Egyptian officials to discuss the proposed deal.A source with knowledge of the negotiations said they were "focused on reaching a two- or three-stage exchange deal, starting with a humanitarian phase with the release of living Israeli civilian prisoners in exchange for Palestinian prisoners".That exchange would "take place at the same time as the gradual ceasefire for a period of two to four weeks, which will be extended for four weeks and so on... in parallel with the Israeli withdrawal," the source added.Sources close to Hamas said the agreement was a three-phase plan leading to a complete end to the war and full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and that it was awaiting Israeli approval."We believe - and the Israelis have said this - that we're getting closer, and no doubt about it, we believe that, but we also are cautious in our optimism," White House spokesperson John Kirby said in an interview with Fox News."We've been in this position before where we weren't able to get it over the finish line."The sources said a ceasefire deal could be days away.The Egyptian sources said they were making progress and felt that Tuesday night could be decisive in setting the next steps.