The head of Hamas says the group is close to reaching a potential ceasefire with Israel that would halt the country’s relentless airstrikes on Gaza in exchange for the release of Israelis held hostage in the Palestinian territories.
Officials for the Palestinian terror group are “close to reaching a cease-fire agreement” with the Israeli government as the sides negotiate through Qatari mediators, an aide to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh told Reuters in a statement.
The aide disclosed little detail about the reported deal but said Hamas had conveyed its response to Qatari mediators.
Hamas’s top leader, Ismail Haniyeh, said the terrorist group was “close to reaching a ceasefire agreement” with the Israeli government.REUTERS
Both sides of the deadly conflict are reportedly negotiating over a ceasefire, logistics for delivering much-needed aid to Gaza and the exchange of Israeli hostages kidnapped and held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners in Israel, a Hamas official told Al Jazeera TV.
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Women and children will be released from both sides as part of the hostage-prisoner exchange, official Issat el Reshiq told the outlet.
It is unclear how many of the 240 Israelis detained in Gaza since Hamas fighters kidnapped them on October 7 will be returned through the brokered deal.
There have been ongoing talks about a potential hostage release deal for several days, but no firm agreement has been reached yet.
Qatar, as a third-party mediator, is expected to announce the details of any agreed plan.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said the balance of the foreign currency was “very small” on Sunday.
Last week, Qatari mediators expected Israel and Hamas to exchange 50 hostages in return for a three-day ceasefire that allowed emergency aid to enter Gaza – where civilians reported having no electricity, clean water or food.
Israeli troops operate amid ongoing ground operations by Israeli forces against the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in a location given as the Gaza Strip, in this screenshot taken from a circulating video released on November 21, 2023. via REUTERS
The United Nations has warned that the possibility of mass starvation is increasing as deliveries of food and other necessities become more difficult or even impossible amid communication disruptions in the region.
The conflict has killed thousands — many of them innocent civilians.
Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7. killed 1,200 Israelis.
Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike in Gaza, as seen from southern Israel, amid ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, November 21, 2023. REUTERS
The Jewish state’s retaliatory air strikes and ground mission in Gaza have killed at least 13,300 Palestinians – including at least 5,600 children and 3,550 women, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
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US officials on Monday said they believed a deal was close, but added that they had thought the same thing before only to be proven wrong.
“Sensitive negotiations like this can fall apart at the last minute,” White House deputy national security adviser Jon Finer said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” program Sunday. “Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.”
With Postal wire
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
