The Qatari Prime Minister believes that Hamas reacted in an “overall positive” manner to the proposed ceasefire in Gaza.
Qatar’s prime minister said Tuesday that Hamas’ response to the latest Gaza ceasefire plan and the release of hostages was “overall positive” during his meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was making his latest visit to the Middle East.
Qatar, which has long served as a mediator with Hamas, is working with the United States and Egypt to negotiate a ceasefire that would involve a prolonged halt in fighting and the release of more than 100 hostages still held by Hamas. Hamas after the October 7 cross-border raid that started the war almost four months ago.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani did not give details of Hamas’ response, but said the group had “comments”. Mr. Blinken confirmed that authorities had received Hamas’ response and said he would brief Israeli leaders when he visited the country on Wednesday.
Hamas said in a statement that it responded in a “positive spirit” to the latest proposal from American and Middle Eastern mediators. But the militant group said it was still seeking a ceasefire “global and complete” to end the “aggression against our people”. Israel has ruled out the type of permanent ceasefire called for by the militant group.