Qatar to Host Mediated Hamas-Israel Truce Talks
Sudan Events – Sumaya Sayed
Qatar will host mediated talks between Hamas and Israel aiming to finalize an agreement on a truce this week.
Representatives from both parties will later travel to Cairo for further talks aimed at reaching an agreement on the timing and mechanism for executing any deal, including hostage releases, the sources said.
Separately, state-linked Egyptian media reported Sunday that negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza have resumed in Doha between “experts from Egypt, Qatar, the United States and Israel,” as well as Hamas representatives.
An Israeli delegation led by Mossad chief David Barnea was in Paris on Friday discussing possibilities of a deal to ensure a fresh ceasefire and the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Israel’s war cabinet agreed on Saturday to send a delegation to Qatar to continue the talks, according to Israeli media reports.
The talks are a “continuation of what was discussed in Paris” and “will be followed by meetings in Cairo”.
During the unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, Palestinian militants took some 250 hostages, 130 of whom remain in Gaza, including 30 presumed dead, according to Israel.
As with a previous week-long truce in November that saw more than 100 hostages and 240 Palestinian prisoners freed, Qatar, Egypt and the United States have been spearheading efforts to secure a new deal.
International pressure for a ceasefire has mounted in recent weeks, as the death toll from Israel’s military offensive on the Palestinian territory nears 30,000, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza health ministry.
