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Qatar PM says only \u2018minor\u2019 challenges to Israel-Hamas captive deal | Israel-Palestine conflict News<\/p>\n
More than 200 people are thought to have been taken to Gaza after Hamas\u2019s assault on Israel on October 7.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Qatar\u2019s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani has said that only \u201cminor\u201d challenges remain to a deal to release some of the more than 200 people taken captive into Gaza after Hamas\u2019s attack on Israel last month.<\/p>\n Sheikh Mohammed, a former foreign minister, gave few additional details or a timeline.<\/p>\n \u201cThe challenges that remain in the negotiations are very minor compared to the bigger challenges. They are more logistical; they are more practical,\u201d he told a joint press conference with the European Union\u2019s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.<\/p>\n Qatar has been acting as an intermediary in negotiations to free those taken captive in Hamas\u2019s surprise attack on Israel on October 7, in which at least 1,200 people were killed.<\/p>\n After the attack, Israel launched a\u00a0relentless air and ground campaign on the besieged Gaza Strip, bombarding the densely-populated territory in an effort to destroy Hamas. More than 13,000 people have been killed in the weeks since.<\/p>\n Borrell, who was due to meet Qatar\u2019s emir before travelling to Jordan, called for the \u201cunconditional release\u201d of all captives and condemned Hamas for the attack.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no hierarchy between horrors, one horror doesn\u2019t justify another horror,\u201d he said, urging an end to the escalating violence and the creation of \u201csustainable peace\u201d in the region.<\/p>\n The Reuters news agency reported on November 15 that Qatari mediators had been seeking a deal between Israel and Hamas to exchange 50 captives in return for a three-day ceasefire that would help boost emergency aid shipments to Gaza civilians, citing an official briefed on the talks.<\/p>\n At the time, the official said general outlines had been agreed, but that Israel was still negotiating details.<\/p>\n On Saturday, the Washington Post newspaper reported a tentative agreement had been reached to free the women and children among the captives in exchange for a pause in fighting.<\/p>\n Citing unnamed sources, the newspaper said all parties would halt combat operations for at least five days with the captives to be released in small groups.<\/p>\n The US newspaper\u2019s report was denied by the White House, which said discussions on a deal were continuing. On Sunday, United States President Joe Biden told reporters he was not in a position to say when the captives might be freed. \u201cI want to make sure they\u2019re out and then I\u2019ll tell you,\u201d he said at an event in Virginia.<\/p>\n Sheikh Mohammed said on Sunday that such reports were \u201ccounterproductive\u201d and that the negotiating process went through ups and downs.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that I\u2019m now more confident that we are close enough to reach a deal that can bring the people safely back to their homes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The talks are continuing as Israel prepares to expand its ground offensive against Hamas into Gaza\u2019s southern half.<\/p>\n The US, Israel\u2019s main ally, has urged caution, as Gaza\u2019s 2.3 million people struggle to find anywhere safe to stay out of the line of fire.<\/p>\n The civilian death toll in Gaza was \u201cstaggering and unacceptable,\u201d United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Sunday as he renewed his appeal for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.<\/p>\n Israel has so far refused all calls for a ceasefire.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u0627\u0644\u0645\u0635\u062f\u0631<\/a>
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