A mid-level Israeli negotiating team that has been in Qatar for several days working on a potential hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas in the Gaza Strip was to return to Israel Tuesday evening, the Prime Minister’s Office said, adding that it had been a “meaningful week” of talks.
“The team is returning for internal deliberations in Israel regarding the continuation of negotiations to bring our hostages home,” the PMO said in a statement.
Qatar’s foreign ministry said negotiations were ongoing in Doha, in cooperation with Egyptian and American mediators.
“We will not leave any door unopened in pursuit of reaching an agreement,” Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majid al-Ansari said at a press conference.
The proposed ceasefire is reported to envision a three-phase implementation. The first stage would see Hamas release “humanitarian” captives — female hostages, any remaining children, the elderly and the sick. Younger male hostages would only be released at a later stage, if the truce holds.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the Knesset on December 23, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Amid the recent swirl of reports that a deal was within reach, 10 families of hostages who are fathers of children sent a letter to the cabinet citing legal reasons why those captives should be included in the first phase, Channel 12 reported.
Under the title “Israel’s commitment to children whose fathers are hostages,” they argued that considerations on which hostages should be released first are governed by international law. These, they said, had not been taken into account when Israel defined who is considered a humanitarian hostage.
There is concern among hostages’ families that any captives not released in the first stage of a truce could remain held for a further prolonged period, as many fear the deal will collapse before further phases are reached.
Among those who signed were former hostage Sharon Aloni Cunio, whose husband David Cunio is still being held; Bat-Sheva Yahalomi, wife of hostage Ohad Yahalomi; and Avital Dekel Chen, wife of Sagui Dekel-Chen.
“Israel is required to recognize and implement the rights of children whose fathers are held by Hamas,” they wrote, adding that the welfare of such children was being “abandoned and damaged” as long as their fathers were still held captive.
Channel 12 reported Tuesday that officials in Washington had been in contact with the families of American Israelis held in Gaza, telling them that while there has been progress, no major development was expected in the coming days, and the process would take time. There are seven US-Israeli citizens among the hostages.
A poster showing hostages held in the Gaza Strip, displayed at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, December 22, 2024. (Miriam Alster/FLASH90)
On Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed cautious optimism on the chances for a hostage deal with Hamas in an address to the Knesset.
“I would like to tell you carefully,” he said, “there is some progress.”
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