[1/3]People take part in a rally in front of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, to put pressure on the government to secure the release of hostages held by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in Gaza, on the one-month anniversary of the Hamas attack on October 7 in Jerusalem in November 7, 2023 Portal/Ronen…Acquire license rights Read more
- The alleged deal calls for a three-day ceasefire, an official tells Portal
- Hamas would release about 50 hostages from Gaza, an official says
- Israel would free some Palestinian women and children from prison
- Qatar has a direct communication link with both Israel and Hamas
DOHA/CAIRO, Nov 15 (Portal) – Qatari mediators tried to negotiate a deal between Hamas and Israel on Wednesday that would see the release of around 50 civilian hostages from Gaza in exchange for a three-day ceasefire, an official said of the negotiations informed told Portal.
The deal under discussion, coordinated with the United States, 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 be the largest release of hostages held by Hamas since the Palestinian militant group broke across the Gaza border, attacking parts of Israel and kidnapping hostages into the enclave.
Hamas has agreed to the general 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 would release from its prisons under the deal under discussion.
The scope of the negotiations led by Qatar has changed significantly in recent weeks, but the fact that the talks are now focused on the release of 50 civilian prisoners in exchange for a three-day ceasefire and that Hamas has agreed to the broad outlines of the deal not yet reported.
The wealthy Gulf state of Qatar, which pursues ambitious foreign policy goals, has direct ties to Hamas and Israel. It has previously helped broker ceasefires between the two.
Such an agreement would require Hamas to hand over a full list of the remaining living civilian hostages in Gaza.
A broader release of all hostages is currently not being discussed, the official said.
There was no immediate reaction from Israeli officials, who had previously refused to provide detailed comment on the hostage negotiations, saying they were unwilling to undermine diplomacy or fuel reports they described as “psychological warfare” by Palestinians Militants looked at.
When asked about the negotiations, Taher Al-Nono, media adviser to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, did not directly confirm the deal under discussion.
“Netanyahu is dithering and undermining any progress. He exploits the prisoners’ issue to continue the aggression. Netanyahu is not serious about reaching an agreement,” Nono told Portal.
The Qatari Foreign Ministry declined to comment.
Qatar, where Hamas has a political office, led mediation between the militant group and Israeli officials for the release of more than 240 hostages. They were picked up by Hamas militants as they rampaged through Israel on October 7. According to Israel, 1,200 people were killed in the rampage.
Israel then launched a relentless bombardment of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip and began an armored invasion of the enclave late last month that Palestinian officials said killed more than 11,000 people, about 40% of them children, with others buried under the rubble.
Israeli Minister Benny Gantz, who is part of the war cabinet, said at a news conference on Wednesday: “Even if we are obliged to stop the fighting to return our hostages, there will be no end to the fighting and the war until we achieve our goal have achieved.” goals.”
When asked to elaborate on what was standing in the way of the hostage deal, Gantz declined to provide details.
Previously, talks focused on the release of up to 15 hostages by Hamas and a pause in Gaza fighting for up to three days, sources in the Gulf and elsewhere in the Middle East said.
There was no immediate comment from the Qatari foreign ministry and Hamas’ political office in Doha.
Two Egyptian security sources said there was only agreement so far on limited ceasefires in certain areas of the Gaza Strip. They said Israel had refused to commit to a broader agreement but appeared to have moved closer to that goal by Tuesday.
OBSTACLES
Hamas’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, said on Monday it had told Qatari negotiators that it was prepared to release up to 70 women and children in return for a five-day ceasefire.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday: “We have worked tirelessly for the release of the hostages and have also applied increased pressure since the ground attack began.”
Every deal faces many obstacles.
It is unclear whether Hamas is currently able to produce an accurate list of hostages it is holding, as the war has led to communication and organizational problems in Gaza, a Western diplomat in the region said.
Without a ceasefire, it would be logistically difficult to gather the hostages for a simultaneous release, as Israel wants, another source in the region with knowledge of the negotiations said.
There was also uncertainty over whether Hamas’ military and political leadership would agree, although this was later clarified, and also concerns that Israeli military pressure would make an agreement difficult, the same source said.
Reporting by Andrew Mills in Doha, Maya Gebeily in Beirut, Aidan Lewis and Ahmed Mohamed Hassan in Cairo, Nidal Al-Mughrabi in Gaza; Additional reporting by Dan Williams and Mayaan Lubell in Jerusalem; writing by Andrew Mills and Angus McDowall; Edited by Michael Georgy and Gareth Jones
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