Hostages’ families visit Qatar in bid to revive talks for return of their loved ones
Relatives of six Israelis kidnapped during October 7 terror onslaught make first such trip to Gulf emirate, which has been mediating negotiations between Israel and Hamas
The families of six Israelis taken hostage in the Hamas-led terror onslaught on October 7 landed Friday in Qatar for meetings aimed at reviving talks to return their loved ones from the Gaza Strip.
The families were slated to meet with the US Ambassador to Qatar Timmy Davis and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Al Thani, according to Hebrew media reports.
The trip marked the first time that families of the hostages have visited Qatar, which has been responsible for mediating hostage negotiations between Israel and Hamas following the October 7 atrocities, when Palestinian terrorists from Gaza rampaged through southern Israeli communities, massacring some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping around 240.
It is believed that 136 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza — not all of them alive — after 105 civilians were released from Hamas captivity during a weeklong truce in late November. Four hostages were released prior to that, and one was rescued by troops. The bodies of eight hostages have also been recovered.
The Israel Defense Forces has confirmed the deaths of 25 of those still held by Hamas, citing new intelligence and findings obtained by troops operating in Gaza.
Hamas is also holding the bodies of fallen IDF soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin since 2014, as well as two Israeli civilians, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who are both thought to be alive after entering the Strip of their own accord in 2014 and 2015, respectively.
Friday’s reports came days after Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri and several other senior members of the Gaza-ruling terror group were killed in Beirut, in a strike that has widely been attributed to Israel. Following Arouri’s assassination, Hamas reportedly froze the negotiations, though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday claimed to the relatives of hostages that talks for their return were ongoing.
Israel has remained mum on responsibility for the strike despite widespread speculation that it was behind the killing of Arouri. On Wednesday, an Israeli official argued the fact that Qatar did not respond publicly to the strike was a positive sign for the continuation of talks.
“If they don’t announce anything, that is ultimately something optimistic,” said the official.
