Qatar receiving ‘constant stream of replies’ from Israel, Hamas on deal talks, says spokesman

Qatar says it is engaged in “serious discussions” on a potential pause in Gaza fighting and a deal to secure the release of the hostages.

“We are engaged in serious discussions on both sides, we have presented ideas to both sides, we are getting a constant stream of replies from both sides, and that in its own right as a cause for optimism,” says Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari in a press conference

“We need to focus on the mediation process itself,” he adds.

The Associated Press reported earlier, citing an Egyptian official, that Hamas rejected an Israeli offer to pause fighting for two months and release Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian security prisoners in stages.

The official said that Hamas leaders have also refused to leave Gaza and are demanding that Israel fully withdraw from the territory and allow Palestinians to return to their homes.

Under Israel’s proposal, Yahya Sinwar and other top Hamas leaders in Gaza would be allowed to relocate to other countries.

The Axios news site reported on Monday that Israel had submitted a proposal through Qatari and Egyptian mediators that would see it agree to pause its military offensive in exchange for a phased release of the remaining 136 hostages in Gaza.

The proposal does not heed Hamas’s demand for Israel to end the war completely, but does appear to go further than Israel has gone in previous offers, two Israeli officials were cited as saying.

Asked about media reports earlier today that a ceasefire deal was being discussed, Israeli government spokesperson Eylon Levy said the war’s goals were unchanged.

“The destruction of Hamas’ governing and military capabilities in the Gaza Strip and the return of all the hostages,” he said. “There will be no ceasefire that leaves the hostages in Gaza and Hamas in power.”

Levy declined to elaborate on efforts to free the hostages, who were taken to Gaza following the Oct. 7 rampage in which Hamas and other militants killed some 1,200 Israelis – the trigger for the war. Levy said lives were in the balance.