An agreement to halt the 14-month-old war in Gaza and free Hamas-held hostages in the Palestinian enclave could be signed in coming days with talks in Doha making progress, according to US and Hamas officials. This comes just a day after an Israeli delegation arrived in the Qatari capital to meet with mediators
“Hamas affirms that, in light of the serious and positive discussions taking place today in Doha under the auspices of our Qatari and Egyptian brothers, reaching an agreement for a ceasefire and a prisoner exchange is possible if the occupation ceases to impose new conditions,” the Palestinian Islamist group said in a statement.
Israeli officials arrived in Doha on Monday for talks aimed at bridging gaps between the two parties, a source with knowledge of the discussions told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity due to their sensitivity.
The meetings follow a trip by David Barnea, who heads Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, to the Qatari capital on Wednesday, the source said.
Qatar, along with the United States and Egypt, has been involved in months of behind-the-scenes negotiations for a Gaza truce and hostage release.
But apart from a one-week pause in fighting late last year, during which scores of Hamas-held hostages were released in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli jails, successive negotiations have failed to halt the war.
However, US officials believe parties are getting closer to clinching a ceasefire deal in Gaza, White House spokesman John Kirby said on Tuesday in an interview with Fox News.
“We believe – and the Israelis have said this – that we’re getting closer, and no doubt about it, we believe that, but we also are cautious in our optimism,” Kirby said. “We’ve been in this position before where we weren’t able to get it over the finish line.”
Kirby did not respond when asked if Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was traveling to Cairo for the talks.
Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz also indicated on Monday that Israeli negotiators have “not been this close to an agreement” for the release of hostages in Gaza since the November 2023 truce.
Despite negotiations for a deal being “closer than ever before”, a senior Hamas official based in Doha warned on Monday that Netanyahu could still “disrupt the agreement as he has done every time before”.
