Qatar, one of the main mediators between Hamas and Israel, announced Tuesday that it had received a positive “response” from the terrorist movement to a truce proposal including the release of hostages held in Gaza, during a tour of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
As the war enters its fifth month on Wednesday, Israeli strikes once again targeted Khan Younes and Rafah, in the south of the Palestinian territory. The Hamas Health Ministry reported at least 107 deaths in 24 hours in Gaza. Alongside Antony Blinken in Doha, Qatar Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abderrahmane Al-Thani said: “We have received a response from Hamas regarding the general framework of the hostage agreement. This response contains some comments, but it is generally positive.
A response “communicated to the Israelis”
He said he was “optimistic” but refused to discuss in detail the response of Hamas, at the origin of the unprecedented attack carried out on October 7 on Israeli soil which sparked the war. More than 1,160 people, mostly civilians, were killed and some 250 kidnapped in Israel and taken to Gaza that day, according to Israeli authorities.
The Palestinian terrorist movement confirmed that it had submitted its response to the Egyptian and Qatari mediators, but without specifying its content. Antony Blinken said the response had “been communicated to the Israelis” and that he would discuss it during his visit to Israel on Wednesday as part of his fifth Middle East tour since October 7.
Last week, a source in the terrorist movement said that the three-phase project included a six-week truce during which Israel will have to release 200 to 300 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for 35 to 40 hostages held by Hamas, and a more great humanitarian aid to Gaza. The proposal was developed at the end of January in Paris by Qatari mediators, including the Prime Minister, American and Egyptian.