Israeli media quoted high-level officials as saying that all proposals submitted regarding Israeli detainees within a Qatari initiative would ultimately lead to ending the war on the Gaza Strip, while Hamas denied talk of any initiative.
The media reported that the war cabinet would discuss efforts to recover the “hostages” despite the large gaps between the two parties, according to the officials, who stressed that Israel must now decide whether to agree to a deal that would lead to an end to the war and the army’s withdrawal from Gaza.
The officials also indicated that the Qatari proposal does not differ significantly from previous proposals, and includes in the first stage the exchange of prisoners on a humanitarian basis and in its final stage the withdrawal of the army from Gaza.
For his part, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that the US administration is focusing its intensive efforts on recovering prisoners held by Hamas, indicating that it will continue to work with both Qatar and Egypt in this endeavour.
Blinken also added – during an interview with MSNBC – that efforts are also focused on renewing the calm periods and putting the prisoner negotiations back on track.
Hamas denied
However, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) denied putting forward a Qatari initiative, one of the terms of which includes the exit of the movement’s leaders from the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Channel 13 talked about what it called the Qatari proposals and said that one of its provisions included the exit of Hamas leaders from the Gaza Strip, but without official confirmation from Israel or Qatar.
The leader of the movement, Osama Hamdan, responded from Beirut, “In principle, there is no initiative of this kind.”
He continued: “The people did not leave their land, so what about the resistance that defends the people? Talk about the resistance leaving and leaving its land is an illusion, and the idea of disarming the resistance is naive and does not reflect an understanding of the facts of the matter.”
Hamdan considered the Hebrew media’s talk about this initiative to be “a process of deception and misinformation to calm the angry street, especially the families of the prisoners who are watching their children killed at the hands of the occupation without (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu caring about them.”
The Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani, said on Sunday that the ceasefire negotiations in Gaza are ongoing and are going through challenges (..) and the killing of a senior leader of the Palestinian Hamas movement (Saleh Al-Arouri) could affect them.
Egypt and Qatar, along with the United States, are sponsoring efforts to reach a second temporary truce in the Gaza Strip.
On the 7th of last October, Hamas carried out an attack on the settlements surrounding the Gaza Strip, in which about 1,200 Israelis were killed, about 5,431 were injured, and at least 239 were captured. Hamas exchanged dozens of them with Israel during a temporary humanitarian truce that lasted 7 days and ended in early December.
According to Hebrew media, the temporary truce at the end of last November resulted in the release of 105 civilians detained by Hamas, including 81 Israelis, 23 Thai citizens, and one Filipino.
Palestinian prisoners’ institutions reported that, under the temporary truce, Israel released 240 Palestinian prisoners from its prisons, as well as 71 female prisoners and 169 children.
Israel estimates that there are about 137 “hostages” still being held in the Gaza Strip, according to identical media reports and statements by Israeli officials.
Since last October 7, the Israeli army has been waging a devastating war on Gaza that, as of Wednesday, left more than 23,000 martyrs and about 60,000 injured, most of them children and women, massive destruction of infrastructure and an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, according to the Gaza Strip authorities and the United Nations.