Qatar Says Hamas Received Hostage Proposal ‘Positively,’ But No Deal Yet

Reports say the deal on the table is for a six-week pause in exchange for the release of the remaining Israeli civilian hostages

A Qatari official told Reuters on Thursday that Hamas has received the latest hostage deal proposal “positively” but said there was no agreement yet.

The comments came after Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman said Hamas gave its “initial positive confirmation” to the proposal, which many took as the Palestinian group accepting the deal. But Hamas swiftly denied an agreement had been reached and said it was still studying the proposal.

According to the latest reports, the current deal that’s on the table would involve a six-week truce and the release of the remaining Israeli civilians still being held in Gaza. Israel would also release three Palestinian prisoners for every Israeli that is freed.

The initial offer was a two-month ceasefire in exchange for the release of all Israeli hostages, including soldiers. But Hamas has said it would only do that for a permanent Israeli withdrawal, a proposal Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeatedly rejected.

The brutal Israeli assault showed no sign of slowing down on Thursday as Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the next target for Israeli ground forces is Rafah, the southern Gaza City that’s packed with 1.5 million Palestinians and has been described as the Strip’s “last refuge.”

Gaza’s Health Ministry said Thursday that the death toll has exceeded 27,000, which does not include the thousands of Palestinians dead or dying under the rubble. Over 66,000 Palestinians have been wounded. The majority of the casualties are women and children.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.