Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Monday that Israeli negotiators have come no closer to an agreement on the release of hostages in Gaza since the November 2023 ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
An Israeli technical team had arrived in Doha, Qatar, on Monday “to discuss a ceasefire and hostage agreement in Gaza”, a source later told AFP.
The source, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks, said the meetings were “between working-level teams of Israel and Qatar.”
According to his spokesman, Katz told members of the Israeli parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee: “We have not come this close to an agreement on hostages since the last agreement.”
A senior Doha-based Hamas official also said talks were progressing.
“The agreement on the exchange of prisoners and a ceasefire between the resistance and the occupation is actually closer than ever before,” the official said, on the condition that (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu does not deliberately disrupt the agreement as expected. He’s done it every time.” He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
He said Hamas has informed mediators from Egypt and Qatar about its readiness to stop the war.
“But Hamas also stressed that it will accept nothing less than an agreement that leads to a complete and permanent end to the war, a complete withdrawal from the entire Gaza Strip, including the Philadelphia and Netzarim axes, the return of displaced persons, And a serious prisoner exchange deal.”
The war began on October 7, 2023, with an unprecedented attack against Israel by the Palestinian Islamic movement Hamas.
In November 2023, a week-long ceasefire, the only one so far in the war, resulted in the release of 105 hostages held in the Gaza Strip. Most were Israeli but the group also included Thai agricultural workers.
The release came as part of an exchange that secured the freedom of 240 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
Since then all mediation efforts led by Egypt, the United States and Qatar have failed to secure a new ceasefire.
In September, Qatar announced it was suspending its efforts, blaming both sides for a lack of willingness to reach an agreement.
– ‘It should be so’ –
However, since Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election in early November, diplomatic efforts have resumed, now jointly brokered by Washington, Cairo, Doha and Ankara.
On Thursday, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said during a visit to Israel that he had the “sense” that Netanyahu was open to a deal to secure the release of the hostages.
On Monday, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller also said talks in recent days have been productive but differences remain.
He told reporters, “We are pushing as hard as we can at this point, and we are confident that we can reach an agreement. But still it is imperative for Hamas and Israel … to bring it over the line.” “
“And I can’t in good conscience stand here and tell you that it’s going to happen, but it’s going to happen.”
Late Monday, Netanyahu’s office said he held a meeting with Adam Boehler, US President Donald Trump’s designated envoy for hostage matters, who is visiting Israel.
Netanyahu also spoke with Trump over the weekend regarding Israel’s efforts to secure the release of the hostages.
Israeli officials said seven people with US citizenship are being held in Gaza, four of whom are confirmed dead.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
