Indirect negotiations began on Sunday in Doha, with the purpose of negotiating a ceasefire after 21 months of conflict
And they resume, on Monday (7), indirect negotiations at Qatar to reach a truce agreement, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu travels to Washington to meet with Donald Trump. Indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas began on Sunday in Doha, with the aim of negotiating a ceasefire after 21 months of conflict and reaching an agreement to free Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. “Indirect negotiations are scheduled for today in Doha between Hamas and Israel delegations to continue the talks,” a Palestinian representative told AFP. United States President Donald Trump said on Sunday that there is the possibility of reaching an agreement “this week.”
“We have already released a lot of hostages, but with regard to the missing hostages, many of them will come out,” he told reporters. Before boarding for Washington on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister said the meeting with Trump could “definitely help move forward” with the deal. Trump defends a truce in Gaza, affected by a serious humanitarian crisis after almost two years of a war triggered by the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 in southern Israel. Netanyahu reported that he sent his team to Doha with “clear instructions” to reach an agreement “under the agreed conditions.” Earlier, he pointed out that Hamas’s response to a ceasefire proposal, supported by the United States and transmitted by Qatar and Egypt mediators, included “unacceptable” requirements.
“IMPORTANT MISSION”
Two Palestinian sources near the conversations told AFP that the proposal includes a 60 -day truce, when the Islamist group would release 10 living Israeli hostages and several kidnapped corpses in exchange for the release of Palestinians detained in Israel. They added, however, that Hamas also requires certain conditions for the removal of Israel, guarantees against the resumption of combat during negotiations and the return of the UN -managed aid distribution system. Netanyahu has an “important mission” in Washington, “advancing an agreement to bring all our hostages home,” said Israeli President Isaac Herzog after a meeting on Sunday. Trump has a meeting scheduled with Israeli Prime Minister at 6:30 pm Washington time (19:30 Brasília), the White House said, a meeting that will not have the usual presence of the press. Of the 251 people kidnapped on October 7, 2023 during the Hamas attack in Israel, 49 remain in captivity in Gaza, but the Israeli army believes 27 are dead.
Since the beginning of the war, the mediators have negotiated two temporary respite from the fighting. On both occasions, hostages were released in exchange for thousands of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody. The latest efforts to negotiate a new truce failed. The main point of divergence is Israel’s rejection to the requirement of Hamas of a lasting ceasefire. The Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 killed 1,219 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP balance based on Israeli official data. More than 57,400 Palestinians died in the Israeli offensive in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the Ministry of Health of the territory ruled by Hamas, numbers that the UN considers reliable. The war also provoked a critical humanitarian situation for the more than two million inhabitants of Gaza, according to the UN and several NGOs. The Civil Defense reported on Monday that 12 people died in Israeli attacks on Gaza. “We are losing young people, families and children every day. This needs to end,” he told AFP Osama Al Hanawi, a resident of Gaza. “They have already poured too much blood.”
Posted by Luisa Cardoso
*With information from AFP
