The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas declared on Tuesday December 17 that discussions in Qatar with a view to a truce in the Gaza Strip were “serious and positive”, the day after the arrival in Doha of an Israeli delegation to meet with mediators.
“Hamas affirms that in light of the serious and positive discussions taking place today in Doha under the auspices of our Qatari and Egyptian brothers, it is possible to reach an agreement for a ceasefire and an exchange of prisoners if the occupation stops imposing new conditions,” the movement said in a statement.
These discussions follow a visit to Doha on December 11 by the head of Mossad, the Israeli foreign intelligence service, David Barnea, a source close to the negotiations said on Monday. But there is no indication yet that the official is participating in the ongoing talks. Israeli negotiators “have never been closer to an agreement” for the release of hostages in the Palestinian territory since the November 2023 truce, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Monday.
Only one truce since the start of the conflict, in November 2023
The war was sparked on October 7, 2023 by an unprecedented attack by Hamas. This led to the death of 1,208 people on the Israeli side, the majority civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli figures and including hostages who died or were killed in captivity in the Gaza Strip. That day, 251 people were kidnapped on Israeli soil. A total of 96 hostages remain in Gaza, 34 of whom were declared dead by the army.
More than 45,059 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli military campaign of retaliation on the Gaza Strip, the majority civilians, according to data from the Hamas government’s Health Ministry for Gaza, deemed reliable by the UN. In November 2023, a one-week truce, the only one so far, allowed the release of 105 hostages held in the Gaza Strip and that of 240 Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons.
All mediation efforts by Egypt, the United States and Qatar since then to try to secure a new truce have failed. At the beginning of November, Qatar announced that it was suspending its efforts, criticizing the two belligerents for their total lack of desire to reach an agreement. But in recent weeks, diplomatic efforts have resumed, this time led jointly by Washington, Cairo, Doha and Ankara.