After delay, Qatar says announcement on timing of truce to be made in the coming hours

Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson says the hostage talks Doha is mediating between Israel and Hamas are “progressing positively” and that an announcement will be made in the coming hours regarding the exact time that the truce will begin.

Officials in Qatar, Israel and Hamas separately announced yesterday that the deal would come into place this morning at 10 a.m., but Israel later announced that implementation would not take place before Friday morning due to apparent logistical delays.

Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari says in a statement that Qatar is working with the two warring parties along with Israel and the US “to ensure the rapid start of the truce and to provide what is necessary to ensure the parties’ commitment to the agreement.”