Qatar seeks Israel-Hamas deal to release 50 hostages, three-day truce

DOHA/CAIRO:

Qatari mediators on Wednesday sought to negotiate a deal between Hamas and Israel that includes the release of about 50 civilian hostages from Gaza in exchange for a three-day ceasefire, an official briefed on the negotiations said. Reuters.

The deal, under discussion, which has been coordinated with the US, would also see Israel release some Palestinian women and children from Israeli prisons and increase the amount of humanitarian aid allowed into Gaza, the official said.

It would mark the biggest release of hostages held by Hamas since the Palestinian group stormed the Gaza border, attacked parts of Israel and took hostages in the enclave.

Hamas has agreed to the broad outlines of that deal, but Israel has not and is still negotiating the details, the official said.

It is not known how many Palestinian women and children Israel will release from its prisons under the deal under discussion.

The scope of the Qatar-led negotiations has changed significantly in recent weeks, but the fact that the talks now focus on the release of 50 civilian prisoners in exchange for a three-day truce and that Hamas has agreed to the outline of the deal have not been previously reported.

The wealthy Gulf state of Qatar, which has ambitious foreign policy goals, has a direct line of communication with Hamas and Israel. He previously helped broker a truce between the two.

Such a deal would require Hamas to hand over a full list of the remaining civilian hostages still alive held in Gaza.

A more comprehensive release of all hostages is not currently under discussion, the official said.

There was no immediate response from Israeli officials, who have in the past declined to comment in detail on the hostage negotiations, citing a reluctance to undermine diplomacy or fuel reports of what they considered “psychological warfare” by Palestinian militants.

Also read: Qatar PM: Hostage release talks progressing, hope for progress ‘soon’

When asked about the negotiations, Taher Al-Nono, media adviser to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, did not immediately confirm the deal being discussed.

“Netanyahu is delaying and undermining any progress. He is exploiting the issue of prisoners to continue the offensive. Netanyahu is not serious about reaching an agreement,” Nono said Reuters.

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry declined to comment.

Qatar, where Hamas operates a political office, is leading mediation between the Palestinian group and Israeli officials for the release of more than 240 hostages. They were captured by Hamas fighters when they burst into Israel on October 7. Israel says 1,200 people were killed during the rampage.

Israel then launched a relentless bombardment of Hamas-run Gaza and late last month began an armored invasion of the enclave, where more than 11,000 people have been killed, about 40% of them children and others buried under ruins, according to Palestinian officials.

Israeli Minister Benny Gantz, who is in the war cabinet, told a press conference on Wednesday: “Even if we have to stop the fighting to return our hostages, the fighting and the war will not stop until we achieve objectives.” .

Asked to elaborate on what is holding up the hostage deal, Gantz declined to elaborate.

Read: Hamas releases new video of captives, Netanyahu denounces ‘brutal propaganda’

Previously, talks had focused on the release of up to 15 hostages from Hamas and a ceasefire in Gaza for up to three days, sources in the Gulf and elsewhere in the Middle East said.

There was no immediate comment from Qatar’s foreign ministry and Hamas’ political office in Doha.

Two Egyptian security sources said there was only agreement so far on limited ceasefires in specific areas of Gaza. They said Israel had shown reluctance to commit to any broader deal, but appeared close to doing so by Tuesday.

Obstacles

Hamas’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, said on Monday it had told Qatari negotiators it was willing to release up to 70 women and children in exchange for a five-day ceasefire.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that “we are working tirelessly to free the hostages, including using increased pressure since the ground invasion began.”

Any deal faces many obstacles.

It is unclear whether Hamas is currently able to compile an accurate list of hostages it is holding since its war has caused communication and organizational problems in Gaza, a Western diplomat in the region said.

Gathering the hostages for any simultaneous release, which Israel wants, would be logistically difficult without a ceasefire, another source in the region with knowledge of the negotiations said.

There was also uncertainty over whether Hamas’ military and political leadership were in agreement, although that was later resolved, and also concern that Israeli military pressure made a deal more difficult, the same source said.