Hamas ‘dragging its feet’ on Doha hostage talks, senior Israeli official says

Hamas is “dragging its feet” in hostage talks in Doha, a senior Israeli official tells Israeli reporters in a briefing.

“Israel is ready to see negotiations with Hamas through to the end, but the refusal and foot-dragging are raising doubts about Hamas’ seriousness.”

Hamas, says the official, “thinks time is in its favor.” The official stresses ongoing IDF operations in Gaza as evidence that time is in Israel’s favor.

Specifically, Hamas is not moving forward on the ratio of prisoners released for each hostage, says the official. “This is delaying the ceasefire. It insists on not moving to discussions on the issue. This is preventing us from making progress.”

An Arab diplomat and a second source involved in the mediation effort told The Times of Israel on Thursday that Hamas had in fact lifted its veto over discussing the terms of the hostage-prisoner swap after receiving Israel’s updated maps depicting the IDF’s partial withdrawal from Gaza during the two-month truce under discussion.

Meanwhile, Israel’s negotiators remain in Qatar, says the senior Israeli official. There is also an Israeli team in Cairo discussing humanitarian aid in the event of a ceasefire.

“As soon as Hamas clears the way, we will be able to make progress,” says the official.

Jacob Magid contributed to this report.