2024-12-16 20:52:00
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz speaking in Jerusalem on November 10, 2024. MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP
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Israeli negotiators “I have never been so close to an agreement” in view of the release of the hostages in Gaza after the November 2023 truce in the war between Israel and Hamas, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz declared on Monday 16 December.
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“We haven’t been this close to a hostage deal since the previous deal”the minister declared before members of the foreign affairs committee of the Israeli parliament, his spokesperson told AFP, confirming Israel Katz’s statements made during this closed session and reported by the Israeli press.
“As far as the possibility of reaching a prisoner exchange and a ceasefire agreement between the occupation (Israel, ed.) and the resistance (Hamas and other Palestinian groups, ed.), I think we are actually closer than we thought. have we ever been before, if (Israeli Prime Minister) Netanyahu doesn’t intentionally derail things like he has done every time.”a Hamas official contacted in Doha told AFP on condition of anonymity.
“An Israeli technical team” sent to Doha
Shortly after these statements, Israeli officials arrived in Doha for talks, a source close to the talks told AFP.
“Israeli technical team in Doha to discuss ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza”this source said on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the discussions, adding that the meetings took place “between Israeli and Qatari working groups”.
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In November 2023, a one-week truce, the only one so far in the war triggered on 7 October 2023 by the unprecedented attack of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on Israeli soil, allowed the release of 105 hostages held in the Gaza Strip and that of 240 Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons.
All mediation efforts conducted since then by Egypt, the United States and Qatar to try to obtain a new truce have failed. In early November, Qatar announced it was suspending its efforts, accusing the two belligerents of a complete lack of will to reach an agreement. But diplomatic efforts have resumed in recent weeks, this time led jointly by Washington, Cairo, Doha and Ankara.
“We can reach an agreement”
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said during a visit to Israel on Thursday that he “the impression” that Benjamin Netanyahu was ready for a deal to release the hostages kidnapped on October 7.
During a press conference in Washington, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller assessed that the negotiations had been productive, while noting the persistence of deadlocks. “We are pushing as hard (as we can) and believe we can reach an agreement. But once again he will return to dealing with Hamas and Israel […] to get him to cross the finish line”Matthew Miller said. “I wouldn’t have a clear conscience if I told you to wait because it will happen now, but it should happen”he added.
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In Jerusalem, Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced that the prime minister met in the evening with Adam Boehler, designated by US president-elect Donald Trump as his special envoy for the hostages.
Of the 251 people abducted on Israeli soil on October 7, 96 remain hostages in Gaza, 34 of whom have been declared dead by the army. Seven hostages from October 7 still in Gaza are American, three of whom are believed to be dead.
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The October 7, 2023 Hamas attack led to the deaths of 1,208 people on the Israeli side, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official data and including hostages who died or were killed in captivity in the Hamas Strip of Gaza . The Israeli offensive has caused at least 45,028 deaths in the Gaza Strip, mostly civilians, according to data from the Hamas Ministry of Health for Gaza, considered reliable by the UN.
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