Qatar growing ‘more optimistic’ about Cairo negotiations resulting in truce, hostage release deal

8 April 2024, 5:22 pm

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Demonstrators call for the release of hostages held in Gaza since Hamas's October 7 massacre, during a rally in front of the Knesset in Jerusalem, April 7, 2024. (Menahem Kahana/AFP)

While the temporary truce and hostage deal negotiations in Cairo are still ongoing, Qatar is “more optimistic” that a deal will come to fruition than it has been in recent days, the spokesman for Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Majed Mohammed al-Ansari tells the BBC.

“If you ask me if I’m more optimistic today than I was a couple of days ago, I would say, yes,” al-Ansari says.

According to al-Ansari, several new proposals are being closely examined by both Israel and Hamas, including one drafted by a US delegation to the talks.

He does not offer any details about the content of the various proposals being examined, but says he hopes the first phase of a three-part ceasefire plan could enter into effect “soon.”