The framework for a deal that could lead to a ceasefire and the release of hostages held in Gaza is being put to the Hamas leadership, Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, said on Monday.
Speaking after talks in Paris between officials from the US, Qatar, Egypt and Israel, he said: “We are in a better place than we were a few weeks ago.”
The basis of the deal is a 45-day pause in the fighting leading to the release of 35 Israeli hostages and as many as 4,000 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.
But Israel remains opposed to a permanent ceasefire and wants to retain a right to recommence hostilities against Hamas – something that the Hamas leadership wants ruled out.
During the last ceasefire, Israel took more hostages than they released. I can understand why Hamas might be skeptical about new deals without a long-term ceasefire guarantee.