On Tuesday, Hamas’s chief told Reuters that the Palestinian party was close to reaching a truce with Israel.
Hamas officials are “close to reaching a truce agreement” with Israel, and the party has given its response to Qatari mediators, according to an adviser to Ismail Haniyeh.
There were no further specifics about the possible agreement’s parameters.
US Vice President Joe Biden stated on Monday that he believed an agreement was close. “We’re closer now than we’ve ever been,” White House spokesman John Kirby said of an accord aimed at obtaining the release of some hostages held in Gaza as well as a respite in fighting to let desperately needed aid into the besieged region.
During their Oct. 7 raid into Israel, Hamas seized approximately 240 hostages and killed 1,200 people.
Mirjana Spoljaric, the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), held discussions with Haniyeh in Qatar on Monday to address humanitarian concerns related to the ongoing conflict, as stated by the Geneva-based ICRC in a released statement. The ICRC clarified that it is not directly involved in the negotiations for the release of hostages but is prepared to act as a neutral intermediary to facilitate any future releases agreed upon by the involved parties.
Rumors of an imminent hostage deal have circulated for several days. Reuters reported last week that Qatari mediators were working on a potential agreement involving the exchange of 50 hostages between Hamas and Israel in return for a three-day ceasefire, intended to facilitate emergency aid shipments to Gaza civilians.
Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Herzog expressed optimism for an agreement “in the coming days” on ABC’s “This Week.” Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman al-Thani mentioned that the remaining issues were “very minor.”
However, caution is urged, as White House Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer emphasized on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that in sensitive negotiations like these, agreements can unravel at the last minute, and nothing is finalized until everything is agreed upon.
The deadliest day in Israel’s history occurred on October 7 when Hamas launched a raid, prompting Israel to invade the Palestinian territory to target Hamas. Since then, Gaza’s Hamas-run government reported over 13,300 Palestinian casualties, including at least 5,600 children and 3,550 women, due to continuous Israeli bombardment.
On Monday, Hamas claimed on its Telegram account to have launched a barrage of missiles towards Tel Aviv, with witnesses also reporting rocket fire at central Israel. The situation remains fluid, and the potential for a lasting agreement hangs in the balance.
