According to Al Jazeera, Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and stated that Hamas had responded “generally positively” to a proposed truce agreement with Israel. The prime minister of Qatar emphasized that Hamas has responded “generally positively” to a proposed truce agreement with Israel during a press conference on Tuesday with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The Palestinian organization also restated its demand for an end to Israel’s attack on Gaza.
Blinken said that Israeli officials had received Hamas’ response to the plan that Qatar, Egypt, and the United States had mediated, amidst the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. Blinken, who is currently touring four countries in the Middle East, said he will discuss the response with Israeli authorities when he goes to the country on Wednesday. According to Al Jazeera, Blinken called the agreement “essential” while addressing reporters in Doha on Tuesday.
“There’s still a lot of work to be done. But we continue to believe that an agreement is possible and indeed essential, and we will continue to work relentlessly to achieve it,” he said.
According to Al Jazeera, Hamas said in a statement that its leaders had reviewed the “comprehensive ceasefire deal … with a positive spirit,” including details on securing relief and shelter, reconstruction, the lifting of a 17-year-old crippling siege, and the completion of the “prisoner exchange” process.
Notably, Qatar has been negotiating a deal with the US and Egypt that would see the release of Hamas hostages and a permanent cease-fire. According to PM Sheikh Mohammed Al Thani, there are numerous obstacles for mediators to overcome during the negotiations, and events in Gaza have an effect on how smoothly things go.
“We are hoping to see it yielding and yielding very soon,” Al Jazeera quoted the Qatari PM as saying.
The proposed agreement was drafted more than a week ago by US and Israeli intelligence chiefs during a meeting with Egyptian and Qatari officials.
Meanwhile, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that all parties engaged in the mediation process are reviewing Hamas’ reaction to the agreement.
