Hamas says Gaza truce talks in Doha 'serious and positive'

DOHA

Palestinians displaced by the Israeli ground offensive on the Gaza Strip play at the makeshift tent camp in Rafah, Jan. 23, 2024.

Hamas said talks in Qatar on Tuesday aimed at a truce and hostage-prisoner exchange in Gaza were "serious and positive", a day after an Israeli delegation flew in 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 militant 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.

The meetings followed a visit to the Qatari capital last Wednesday by Mossad spy chief David Barnea, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks.

Qatar, along with the United States and Egypt, has been mediating between Israel and Hamas for months in the quest for a Gaza truce and hostage release.

But apart from a one-week truce late last year, which saw scores of hostages released in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli jails, successive rounds of negotiations have failed to halt the war.

On Monday, Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israeli negotiators had "not been this close to an agreement" since the November 2023 truce.

A senior Hamas official based in Doha said on Monday that a deal was "closer than ever before" but warned that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could still "disrupt the agreement as he has done every time before".

Another source close to Hamas said: "Everything indicates that we are getting closer to an agreement, I expect before (US president-elect Donald) Trump's inauguration" on Jan. 20.

Mohamed al-Hind, the deputy head of Hamas ally Islamic Jihad, said his group, which is believed to hold some of the hostages still captive in Gaza, had met with Egyptian officials to discuss the proposed deal.

A source with knowledge of the negotiations said they were "focused on reaching a two- or three-stage exchange deal, starting with a humanitarian phase with the release of living Israeli civilian prisoners in exchange for Palestinian prisoners".

That exchange would "take place at the same time as the gradual ceasefire for a period of two to four weeks, which will be extended for four weeks and so on... in parallel with the Israeli withdrawal," the source added.

Sources close to Hamas said the agreement was a three-phase plan leading to a complete end to the war and full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and that it was awaiting Israeli approval.