The Prime Minister of Qatar, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, referred today (Sunday) to the negotiations on a deal for the release of the hostages held in the Gaza Strip and said that his country continues to work on reaching an agreement.
"Efforts to complete a prisoner exchange deal continue, and we are close to reaching an agreement," said Al Thani in a joint press conference with the European Union's foreign minister, Josep Borrell. According to him, "Our confidence in reaching a deal is increasing, and the negotiations are related to logistical matters - and not to the essence of the agreement. The gaps that remain are very small. Our focus is on the safe release of civilians from both sides."
As a reminder, this morning it was reported in the "Washington Post" newspaper that a deal between Israel and Hamas for the release of 50 hostages is close to being closed. According to the report, the deal will include a 5-day ceasefire, where every 24 hours a small group from among the 50 hostages will be released.
The report states that the deal is expected to be implemented in the coming days, and that the humanitarian pauses are intended to allow additional income of humanitarian equipment and fuel. However, the newspaper emphasizes that it is not yet clear how many of the total number of abductees, whose estimated number now stands at 237, will eventually be released as part of the deal that is taking shape.
Following the publication, the White House hastened to announce that no deal has yet been reached and that negotiations are continuing. "An agreement has not yet been reached," said White House National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson, who added that the US continues to "work hard to reach an agreement."