Progress in hostage talks after Qatar warns Hamas of kicking out their leaders from country, says Arab diplomat

After an extended period of deadlock in the talks, Qatari and Egyptian mediators believe they have made significant progress this week toward securing a truce between Israel and Hamas, according to a report.

According to a Times of Israel report, citing Arab diplomat, progress in talks took place due to substantial pressure exerted by Doha on Hamas, with the terror group being warned that its leaders residing in Qatar would be kicked out of the country if they didn’t adapt their approach in the negotiations.

Meanwhile earlier today, Al Arabiya quoted a senior Hamas official saying that the group had accepted a modified version of the latest US proposal, which was based on a framework accepted by Israel during a meeting in Paris last month.

Hamas, however, later issued a statement denying the report.

According to the Arab diplomat, the proposed three-phase agreement entails the release of around 40 hostages – comprising women, the elderly, and the wounded – in the initial six weeks. Subsequently, soldiers would be released in the second phase, followed by the handover of hostages’ bodies in the third phase.

The later stages of the agreement would involve discussions aimed at establishing a more lasting ceasefire between the parties, the diplomat explained.

In the first phase, mediators are endeavoring to persuade Hamas to agree to a 10:1 ratio of security prisoners released by Israel for each hostage, the diplomat revealed. He noted that Hamas had initially pushed for a more skewed ratio but seems to have moderated its stance.

Although Israel initially accepted a framework in Paris upon which the current proposal is based, final approval from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet, as well as from Hamas, is still pending, the Arab diplomat added, expressing uncertainty about whether this approval will be obtained.

With inputs from agencies