Qatari official says he’s optimistic all hostages will be released soon

Senior Qatari official Majed Al-Ansari says he is optimistic that all hostages held by Hamas will be released soon, indicating that the release of two American-Israelis Friday was a first step toward the release of more civilian hostages.

“The release took place within a framework that confirms the positive intention to release the hostages,” he tells German newspaper Die Welt. “We are optimistic that the hostages, especially the civilians, will be released very soon.”

Al-Ansari, an adviser to Qatar’s foreign ministry, says Doha is one of several parties involved in negotiations for their release, but unique in that it is talking to both Israel and Hamas.

He also seems to give way when pressed on Doha’s decision to blame Israel for Hamas’s attacks on October 7, in which the terror group rampaged through Israeli communities, slaughtering families.

“Yes, it was particularly serious,” he says. “It was certainly worse than anything we’ve seen before. But when Israel bombs homes knowing that there are children in them, then innocent people are also at stake. And no human life is more important than another.”