Mediation source in Qatar says Hamas doesn’t actually expect to get 200 top prisoners for 10 hostages

A source involved in mediation efforts for a truce deal in Gaza says gaps between Israel and Hamas are not very wide.

The source claims that Israel is upset over Hamas’s proposal to exchange 200 Palestinian security prisoners serving life sentences for 10 hostages, but tells The Times of Israel that the number was merely a starting bid and that the terror group is prepared to come down closer to a number Jerusalem deems reasonable.

Moreover, the vast majority of the 2,000 Palestinians detained in Gaza since the war’s outbreak, who Hamas is also demanding be released as part of the swap, have not even been charged, the non-Israeli source says, accusing Israel of arbitrarily detaining Gazans for use as barter in the negotiations.

As for the scope of the Gaza border belt that the IDF would remain in during a truce, the source describes Hamas’s response issued last night as only roughly 200 meters less than what what Israel is demanding. Israel had earlier demanded a two-kilometer buffer zone, while Hamas had countered with a one-kilometer buffer. Israel then lowered its demand to 1.2 kilometers, but the source’s description means Hamas is continuing to hold firm on its 1-kilometer demand rather than compromise in turn.

The source says both Egyptian and Qatari mediators believe that the gaps can be bridged within days and hope Israel hasn’t recalled its negotiating team in order to withdraw from the talks.

The source indicates that US special envoy to the Mideast Steve Witkoff is in agreement with Israel that Hamas’s latest response was not acceptable.

Amid the apparent logjam, today’s scheduled meeting between Witkoff, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Abdulrahman al-Thani in Italy appears up in the air, the source says.