While more than 90 Israelis are still hostages in Gaza following the Hamas attack last October, Israel is sending a high-level delegation to Qatar to try to unblock negotiations on a ceasefire and their release…
According to sources familiar with the matter, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mandated this weekend a delegation made up of senior security and intelligence officials to travel to Qatar. Their mission: to advance the ongoing negotiations aimed at obtaining a lasting ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, as well as the release of dozens of Israeli hostages still in the hands of Hamas.
This decision comes as indirect talks between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement, interrupted for several weeks, recently resumed in Doha under the aegis of Qatari and American mediators. Until now, Israel had only been represented there by mid-ranking emissaries.
More than 90 hostages still held in Gaza
The question of hostages has been at the heart of negotiations since the unprecedented attack carried out by Hamas on October 7, 2023 in Israeli territory. That day, 251 civilians were kidnapped, among whom 94 still remain captive to this day in the Palestinian enclave according to the authorities. More than a third of them are considered dead by the Israeli army. The families of the hostages are stepping up their actions to maintain pressure on the government.
We call on the delegation to seize this historic opportunity to secure the release of all our loved ones. Let her do everything possible to come back with an agreement allowing the return of all the hostages, down to the last one.
Hostage Families Forum
Encouraging progress ahead of Trump’s inauguration
The resumption of negotiations and the sending of a high-level Israeli delegation come at a pivotal moment. With the upcoming inauguration of Donald Trump on January 20, who has promised “hell” if the hostages are not released before his return to power, a window of opportunity appears to be opening to secure an agreement.
Outgoing US President Joe Biden wanted to be optimistic this week, speaking of “real progress” in the discussions. The United States plays a key mediating role in this highly sensitive issue.
A heavy toll for the deadliest conflict since 2014
The war triggered by the Hamas attack last October is the bloodiest the Gaza Strip has seen since that of 2014. According to UN data deemed reliable, more than 46,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, died in Israeli retaliatory bombings.
On the Israeli side, the initial kidnapping left 1,208 dead, mainly civilians. It was the deadliest attack ever carried out in Israel. The ceasefire and the release of hostages could help ease tensions, even if the road to lasting peace still seems long and strewn with pitfalls in this region scarred by decades of conflict.
