War between Israel and Hamas: negotiations continue for the release of twelve hostages in exchange for a three-day truce

Negotiations continue in the Gaza Strip. The deal is about a three-day truce in exchange for the release of twelve hostages, including six Americans, a source close to Hamas said on Wednesday. These negotiations are currently stalled “for the duration” of the truce and the inclusion in this agreement of “the north of the Gaza Strip, the site of large-scale fighting,” but this source clarified. “Qatar is waiting for a response from the Israelis,” she added.

Such a truce should also allow Egypt, which borders the Gaza Strip, to “deliver more humanitarian aid” into the besieged Palestinian territory through the Rafah crossing, the same source said. “I don’t comment on any negotiations,” Israeli government spokesman Eilon Levy said.

Earlier in the day, a source close to the negotiations said Qatar was negotiating “in coordination with the United States (…) for the release of ten to 15 hostages in exchange for a one-year ceasefire.” »

More than 240 people were kidnapped and taken to the Gaza Strip in an unprecedented attack on Israeli soil on October 7 by Hamas commandos. At least 1,400 people have been killed in Israel since the war sparked by the attack began, with most civilians killed on October 7, according to Israeli authorities.

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In the Gaza Strip, the Israeli response, which says it wants to destroy Hamas, has killed 10,569 people, including 4,324 children, according to the Palestinian Islamist Movement’s Health Ministry. Israel is refusing any humanitarian truce until the hostages are released, despite persistent calls from the UN, non-governmental organizations and foreign capitals for a ceasefire or a pause that would allow aid to reach populations deprived of water, electricity, food and medicine. G7 foreign ministers meeting in Tokyo on Wednesday expressed support for “humanitarian pauses and corridors” in the Gaza Strip.

Qatar, home to Hamas’s political office and which has provided millions of dollars in financial aid to Gaza, was involved in the mediation that led to the release in October of four hostages: an American woman and her daughter, and two Israeli women. The gas-rich state is also a close ally of the United States and is home to the largest military base in the region.

On Sunday, Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani confirmed that his country would continue mediation despite difficulties on the ground “caused by the actions of the Israeli occupation.”