“Israel will release around 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, including several sentenced to heavy sentences,” a Palestinian source close to the negotiations said on Tuesday. These statements echo information given to journalists by an Israeli government official on condition of anonymity, according to which “several hundred terrorists would be released” during the first phase of the truce in the Palestinian territory.
An agreement concluded “very soon”
Qatar said on Tuesday that a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip could be concluded “very soon”, after fifteen months of a war between Israel and Hamas which has killed tens of thousands of deaths.
A week before Donald Trump’s arrival at the White House, indirect negotiations have intensified with a view to a truce associated with the release of hostages held in the Palestinian territory since the Hamas attack against Israel on October 7 2023, which started the war.
Qatar, the main mediating country with the United States and Egypt, said ongoing negotiations in Doha were “at the final stage” and that the “main issues” blocking a deal had been resolved.
“We hope that this will lead to an agreement very soon,” added a spokesperson for Qatari diplomacy.
Hamas said in a statement that it had informed the Palestinian factions of the progress of the ongoing discussions in Doha, which are in “the final phase”, hoping that “this round of negotiations will end with a clear and complete agreement”.
“No question of a definitive ceasefire”
“Several hundred terrorists will be released but I cannot give figures because it depends on the number of people alive in the 33 on the list” of hostages, said, for his part, an Israeli government official regarding the first phase of the truce under discussion.
After months of failed attempts to secure a truce in Gaza between Hamas and Israel accompanied by an exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners, mediation efforts by Egypt, the United States and Qatar now appear ‘today is well on its way to success.
“There has been real progress in the last two days,” the Israeli official said. “This time we can hope for good news, we are close to the goal, but not there yet.”
Israel will “not leave Gaza until all the hostages have returned, the living and the dead,” he added, specifying that there was no question of a definitive ceasefire, but temporary.
