The Israeli delegation in Qatar has agreed to an American compromise on the issue of the number of Palestinian prisoners who will be swapped for each Israeli hostage and await a response from Hamas, Israeli media reported Saturday night.
According to the reports, there were originally major disagreements about this number, prompting the American compromise proposal.
The Israeli team in Qatar has been authorized to discuss the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza, according to N12, who also reported that a Hamas response will likely take a few days to receive due to the logistics of getting approval from Hamas leadership in Gaza.
Mossad Chief David Barnea flew to Qatar Friday to meet CIA director William Burns, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Al-Thani, and Egyptian Intelligence Minister Abbas Kamal to discuss a hostage deal that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he believes is possible to agree on, although there is “still difficult work to get there.”
N12 reported that Senior Hamas officials, such as Ismail Haniyeh, were also present for the talks in Qatar.
Qatari-based news network Al-Jazeera published an exclusive report on Saturday claiming some conditions agreed upon during the compromise.
The report claimed that Israel has agreed to let 2,000 Gazans return to the north of the Gaza Strip, starting two weeks after the agreement is signed. The report also stated that Israel had denied Hamas’s request to release 30 prisoners for every female soldier and countered with an offer to release five prisoners for every female soldier.
Additionally, Al-Jazeera reported that Israel had requested the release of the bodies of Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul.
Importantly, no Israeli official has confirmed any of the claims made in this report.
“The Israeli team that is present [in Doha] has the authority to reach an agreement,” Blinken told Al Arabiya English in a video interview on Thursday amid reports that the delegation had been put under constraints.
Blinken urged Israel’s Cabinet on Friday to find a solution to the issue of Gazan leadership after Hamas said that “even after operations in Rafah, the challenge of Hamas will remain, the anarchy and chaos will regrow it, if there is no alternative leadership,” Channel 13’s Moriah Asraf Wolberg reported.
Hostage and Missing Families Forum holds rally for Gaza hostages
The Hostage and Missing Families Forum held a “No Coming Back Without a Deal” rally at Hostages Square on Saturday night.
“This year for Purim, There is no greater Mitzvah than Pidyon Shvuyim (the redemption of captives),” said the forum in an invitation to the rally. The rally included a reading of Esther and multiple speakers, including family members of hostages.
Thousands protested Saturday night in front of the Kirya military headquarters, calling for a hostage deal and reading the names of the hostages, according to protest organizations. Hundreds also gathered in Jerusalem, with protesters carrying a banner that read “deal or death sentence.”
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