Gaza War: Middle East: Almost “standstill” in ceasefire talks

According to the mediating state of Qatar, efforts to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza war have almost come to a “standstill”. There are fundamental disagreements between the Islamist Hamas and Israel, said Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani at the economic forum in the capital Doha.

One side wants to end the war and then talk about the hostages, the other side wants to free the hostages and continue the war. “As long as there is no agreement on these two things, we will not reach any conclusion,” Al Thani said. If both parties agree that both a ceasefire and an agreement on the hostages are necessary, a deal could be reached within a few days.

Hamas continued to demand a comprehensive ceasefire, including a complete withdrawal of the Israeli army from the Gaza Strip. Israel, which has declared the complete destruction of Hamas as its goal, has so far rejected this.

Regarding a possible expulsion of the Hamas leadership from Qatar, the prime minister said: “We believe that there is nothing to expect in this area as long as the war continues and there is a need for communication.” Hamas’s presence in Qatar is mainly for communication. The channels this created between Hamas, Israel and the USA have proven useful in the past. This is, among other things, how the one-week ceasefire came about in November last year. Around 100 hostages were also released in return for 240 Palestinian prisoners.

Israel and Hamas do not negotiate directly with each other. Qatar, Egypt and the USA are therefore acting as mediators. The aim of the talks is to achieve the release of hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons and a ceasefire. The last round of negotiations to date in the Egyptian capital Cairo remained inconclusive. The focus of the talks had recently moved from Qatar to Egypt.