Gaza war
Talks about hostage deal at official level in Qatar
Exhibition with posters of people taken hostage by Hamas in Tel Aviv on October 7, 2023. photo
©Maya Alleruzzo/AP
Egypt, Qatar and the USA are mediating between Israel and Hamas over the release of the Israeli hostages. Talks are currently taking place in the Qatari capital Doha.
The indirect negotiations for a ceasefire in the Gaza war should continue today at official level in the Qatari capital Doha. This was reported by the pro-government Egyptian television channel Al-Kahira News, citing Cairo government officials. Egypt, Qatar and the USA are mediating in the difficult talks, which should also lead to the release of the Israeli hostages held by the Islamist Hamas.
A high-ranking Israeli delegation led by foreign intelligence chief David Barnea met representatives of the mediating states in Paris on Saturday. According to reports, “significant progress” has been made. The Israeli war cabinet, which was formed on Saturday evening under the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved the continuation of official-level talks, Israeli broadcaster Kan reported.
This is what the deal could look like
According to Israeli government officials cited by the broadcaster, if an agreement is reached, 35 to 40 hostages could be released in a first phase. These would primarily be women, children, older men and men with serious illnesses or injuries. In return, Israel would release 300 Palestinians from Israeli prisons. Hamas still holds around 100 hostages who are believed to be alive. The ceasefire would last about six weeks. It should come into force before the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. This starts around March 10th.
It initially remained unclear to what extent Hamas had reduced its far-reaching demands as a condition for an agreement. The Arabic television channel Al-Jazeera quoted an unnamed Hamas official on Sunday as saying: “The optimism surrounding an approaching agreement is not backed by reality.” Netanyahu would still defy Hamas’ key demand for an indefinite cessation of hostilities and a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.
The Gaza War was triggered by the worst massacre in Israel’s history, carried out by terrorists from Hamas and other extremist Palestinian organizations on October 7th in southern Israel near the border with the Gaza Strip. On the Israeli side, 1,200 people were killed and another 250 were taken hostage.