Qatar has received an “initial positive confirmation” from the Hamas terror organization in response to its most recent hostages-for-ceasefire proposal, Doha’s Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday night, according to Al-Jazeera.
“Israel agreed to the ceasefire proposal, and we have initial positive confirmation from Hamas,” the Qatari state-owned network cited Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari as saying.
However, a political source in Yerushalayim told Ynet that Israel had not received any official update from Qatar. Israel’s War Cabinet was scheduled to meet on Thursday night at the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv to discuss the recent developments in the negotiations.
The Jewish state agreed to a framework for a renewed deal to secure the release of some hostages in exchange for a ceasefire earlier this week, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday. Hamas was considering the offer, the Post said, citing officials familiar with the negotiations.
All civilians would reportedly be released over an initial six-week period, with soldiers and the bodies of dead hostages returned in subsequent stages.
Israel would agree to commute the sentences of an unspecified number of Palestinian terrorists from prison for each hostage. The agreement would also reportedly include “a temporary repositioning of Israeli troops away from high-population areas” in the Gaza Strip.
During a visit to Israel Defense Forces soldiers serving in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza on Thursday, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stressed that the ongoing military assault in the city “brings the return of the hostages closer, because Hamas only understands power.”
According to a snap poll conducted by Israel’s Channel 12 television on Tuesday, 50 percent of Israelis oppose a hostage deal that would see an extended pause in the fighting in Gaza and the release of thousands of Palestinian terrorists. Only 35% support the terms of the reported agreement, with the rest undecided.
According to official figures, 136 hostages remain in Gaza, although dozens are believed to be dead. JNS
Jewish state…. lol!