On Tuesday, December 17, Hamas published a statement in which it judged «possible» of “reach an agreement” on a ceasefire and the fate of hostages held in Gaza. Qualifying as “serious and positive” the discussions “which took place [ce mardi] in Doha,” in Qatar, the Islamist movement in power in the Palestinian enclave, however, sets as a prerequisite that «l’occupation [israélienne] stop imposing new conditions. For its part, the United States said it was demonstrating “cautious optimism” regarding the prospect of reaching a truce in the Gaza Strip, after more than a year of devastating conflict between Israel and Palestinian Hamas. “I think cautious optimism is a good way to characterize it, although greatly moderated by realism”US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told the press, as Hamas describes the negotiations for a truce organized in Doha as “serious and positive”.
In Israel, the situation is more confused: rumors are circulating about a possible upcoming agreement, three official flights having been listed between Israel and Egypt in the last 24 hours, and two to Qatar the day before. The American agency Reuters announced this Tuesday afternoon that Benjamin Netanyahu was on his way to Cairo to attend a negotiation meeting with American, Qatari and Egyptian mediators. But the information was immediately denied by the Israeli Prime Minister’s office, which claimed that he was holding a meeting in the Golan, on the crest of Mount Hermon, on the Syrian side of the border with the Jewish state.
These discussions follow a visit to Doha on December 11 by the head of Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence service, David Barnea, according to a source close to the negotiations, but there is no indication that he is participating in the ongoing talks.
Israeli negotiators “have never been so close to an agreement” with a view to the release of hostages in the Palestinian territory since the November 2023 truce, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Monday.
Resumption of diplomatic efforts
In November 2023, a one-week truce, the only one so far, allowed the release of 105 hostages held in the Gaza Strip and that of 240 Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons. All mediation efforts by Egypt, the United States and Qatar since then to try to obtain a new truce have failed.
At the beginning of November, Qatar announced that it was suspending its efforts, criticizing the two belligerents for their total lack of desire to reach an agreement. But in recent weeks, diplomatic efforts have resumed, this time led jointly by Washington, Cairo, Doha and Ankara.
