Palestinians and Israelis are cautiously optimistic about a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages after 15 months of devastating war.

"I can't believe I'm alive to witness this moment," Sanabel, 17, said in a voice message from Gaza City. "We've been waiting with bated breath since the first month (last year)."

Sharon Lifshitz, whose elderly father is one of the remaining hostages, said: "I'm trying to breathe. I'm trying to stay optimistic. I'm trying to imagine that it's possible now to make a deal and all the hostages will return. ”

A spokesman for Qatar's foreign ministry said on Tuesday that there were no major issues standing in the way of an agreement between Israel and Hamas and that indirect talks in Doha were focused on "the final details of an agreement."

Israeli government officials said the negotiations had made "real progress" and entered a critical and sensitive period, while Hamas said it was satisfied with the current status of the negotiations.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said a deal was "close to being reached."

Sanabel, who lives with her family in a partially destroyed house, told the BBC's OS program that everyone in northern Gaza "feels happy, happy and happy to see their best friends, to see their families who have been displaced to southern Gaza." optimism". Take off your clothes and start over”.

The teenager said she had called her displaced best friend to discuss "what we would do if the war ended", adding that she would first try to "make up for every moment I can't see her".

"But after I called her, there was a huge bomb in my area. It reminded me of the (last ceasefire and hostage release agreement) in November 2023. (Before it started) there were huge bombs and Missiles. I'm really scared that this will happen again."

"I don't want to lose one of my family members in the last hours of this war. I don't want a ceasefire for a year or five months. I want a ceasefire for a long time - for the sake of what's left of us to live on."

Asmaa Tayeh, a young graduate who lives with her family at her grandparents' home in the al-Nasr neighborhood of western Gaza City, also said people were brave enough to hope again.

"You would never imagine how excited and nervous people are here," she told the BBC. "Everyone is waiting as if they can only survive if it is announced."

Asma comes from Jabaliya, Gaza's largest urban refugee camp, where residents have been repeatedly forced to evacuate their homes by Israeli forces.

When Israeli forces launched a new ground offensive in Jabaliya in October, Asma's family was again forced to flee.

The battle for Jabaliya has raged ever since. In December, Asma said her entire region had been "wiped out."

Relatives of Israeli hostages held in Gaza since October 2023 have also been telling the BBC that a ceasefire agreement may be imminent.

Sharon Lifshitz is a British-Israeli artist and filmmaker who has been detained since November 2023 as a woman imprisoned along with her 84-year-old father Oded during a week-long ceasefire. She has not been heard from since her release.

"For us, we know there will be so much heartbreak. We know many of the hostages are dead. We desperately want the living to return first so they can return to their families. Each of them is a complete world away. ," she told the "Today" show.

She said her mother, Yocheved, was skeptical about the possibility of a deal, but "I could feel the cracks in the optimism." Jocheved was also kidnapped during the attack on October 7, but was released a few weeks later.

The two children of Eyal Kalderon, a cousin of 54-year-old Ofer Kalderon, were among the 105 hostages released in November. He said in a voice message to BBC OS: "We hope that this deal will be completed as soon as possible and that we will reach the moment when Ofer can be embraced and his four children can embrace him."

"We want this deal to include all the hostages, all 98 hostages. We demand that. We just want to see them all in Israeli (territory)."

Lee Siegel is the brother of Keith Siegel, 64, and his wife, Aviva, who was also released from prison in November. The deceased was given a proper burial in his native country. "

Some family members of hostages not included in the initial release have expressed anger and fear their relatives could be left behind if the deal falters at a later stage.

Ruby Chen's son Itay was killed in the attack on October 7, 2023, and his body is currently being stored in Gaza.

"Unfortunately, the Prime Minister is moving forward with an agreement that does not include my son and 65 other hostages, without knowing how my son will be born. This agreement is unacceptable to most families," he said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces opposition from far-right cabinet ministers and some in his party who oppose prisoner releases and a broader ceasefire.

Sharon Lifshitz said most Israelis had supported such a deal "for a long time," but that combined pressure from the administrations of outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump finally gave the Tanyahu's government brought the "extra push" it needed.

"It appears this deal is very similar to the one proposed in July," she added. "So many hostages have died since July. Soldiers, Palestinians. So much suffering."

Late on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said he believed a majority in the Israeli government would support a deal.

Meanwhile, Blinken, who is about to end his term as U.S. secretary of state, laid out for the first time the Biden administration's plan to hand over post-war Gaza to Trump.

It does not envisage immediate and complete control of Gaza by the Palestinian Authority (PA). The Palestinian Authority, an entity created under the Oslo accords, has limited governance over parts of the occupied West Bank.

Crucially, Gaza's security forces will be made up of personnel from other countries - most likely Arab countries, although he did not name them - as well as "vetted" Palestinian forces.

Blinken said Hamas, as he has said before, seeks to spark regional war and undermine U.S.-led efforts to integrate Israel and its Arab neighbors.

At the same time, he said, Israel's military operations "went beyond destroying Hamas's military capabilities and killing its leaders responsible for the October 7 attacks."

He said this was self-defeating, adding that the United States assessed that Hamas had recruited almost as many new fighters as Israel had killed.

Israel launched an operation to destroy Hamas in response to an attack on the organization on October 7, 2023, which killed approximately 1,200 people and took 251 others hostage.

Since then, more than 46,640 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. Most of the 2.3 million people have also been displaced, causing widespread destruction and severe shortages of food, fuel, medicine and shelter as aid is difficult to reach those in need.

Israel says 94 hostages are still being held by Hamas, 34 of whom are presumed dead. In addition, four Israelis were abducted before the war, two of whom died.