From the Liveblog of
Sunday, January 7, 2024
Families of hostages, who met officials in Doha, say Qataris were ‘attentive, sympathetic’
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleJessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center
Families of the hostages who flew to Qatar and met with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani and other Qatari officials, gather at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, and reveal that their meetings in Doha were positive.
The families went to Qatar because the freeze in negotiations is “killing the hostages,” says Daniel Lifschitz, grandson of hostage Oded Lifschitz.
An aunt of hostage Shiri Bibas says that the Qatari government is committed to the release of the hostages, and believes a temporary pause in fighting will accelerate the process of negotiations.
“They were attentive, familiar with our stories and showed sympathy to us,” says Ruby Chen, whose son, Itay Chen, was abducted on October 7.
The Qataris view the hostage situation as a humanitarian crisis, and a top priority, says Chen, but “the gaps between the two sides are still large,” he adds.
Ronen Neutra, whose son, Omer Neutra, was also taken captive, says that the families of the hostages expect to receive an update on possible negotiations from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during his visit tomorrow.
The Times of Israel Community.