Israel closer than ever to deal on Gaza hostages, says defence minister
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Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz says negotiators have not been this close to an agreement on hostages in Gaza since the previous one.
AFP
JERUSALEM - Israeli negotiators have never been closer to a deal for the release of hostages in Gaza since the November 2023 truce in the war between Israel and Hamas, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Dec 16.
A source later told AFP that an Israeli technical team had arrived in Doha, Qatar, on Dec 16 “to discuss the ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza”.
The source, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks, added that the meetings were “between Israeli and Qatari working-level teams”.
According to his spokesman, Mr Katz told members of the Israeli Parliament’s foreign affairs committee: “We have not been this close to an agreement on the hostages since the previous deal.”
A senior Hamas official based in Doha also said the negotiations were progressing.
“A deal for exchanging prisoners and ceasefire between the resistance and the occupation has actually become closer than ever before, if (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu does not intentionally disrupt the agreement as he has done every time before,” the official said on condition of anonymity, as he was not authorised to speak publicly on the matter.
He said Hamas had informed the Egyptian and Qatari mediators of its readiness to stop the war.
“But Hamas stressed at the same time that it will not accept anything less than an agreement that leads to a complete and permanent cessation of the war, a full withdrawal from the entire Gaza Strip, including the Philadelphi and Netzarim axes, the return of the displaced, and a serious prisoner exchange deal.”
The war began on Oct 7, 2023, with an unprecedented attack by Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas against Israel.
In November 2023, a one-week truce, the only one so far in the war, led to the release of 105 hostages held in the Gaza Strip. Most were Israelis but the group also included Thai farm workers.
That release occurred as part of an exchange that secured the freedom of 240 Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons.
All mediation efforts, led by Egypt, the US and Qatar, have since then failed to secure a new truce.
In September, Qatar announced it was suspending its efforts, blaming both sides for a lack of willingness to reach an agreement.
However, since Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election in early November, diplomatic efforts have resumed, now jointly mediated by Washington, Cairo, Doha and Ankara.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, during a visit to Israel on Dec 12, stated that he “had the sense” that Mr Netanyahu was ready for a deal to secure the release of hostages.
On Dec 16, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said negotiations had been productive in recent days, but that differences remained.
“We are pushing as hard as we know how to do at this point and we believe we can get to a deal. But again it remains incumbent on Hamas and Israel... getting it over the line,” he told journalists.
“And I can’t in good conscience tell you, stand here and tell you that that’s going to happen, but it should happen.”
Later on Dec 16, Mr Netanyahu’s office said he had held a meeting with Mr Adam Boehler, Trump’s designated envoy for hostage affairs, who is on a visit to Israel.
Mr Netanyahu also spoke with Trump over the weekend regarding Israel’s efforts to secure the release of hostages.
Seven individuals with US citizenship remain captive in Gaza, with four confirmed dead, Israeli officials say. AFP
