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Mark Schiefelbein/Pool, via Reuters
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken shakes hands with Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani at the Diwan Annex in Doha, Qatar, Tuesday, February 6, 2024. Mark Schiefelbein/Pool via REUTERS
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Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Tuesday that Hamas had responded to a proposal aimed at freeing the remaining hostages in the Gaza Strip and bringing about a sustained cessation of fighting.
“I would like to let the media know that we have received a response from Hamas regarding the general outline of the hostage agreement,” Al-Thani told a news conference alongside Blinken in Doha.
βThe reply contains some comments, but overall it is positive. However, given the sensitivity of the situation, we will not go into details,β Al-Thani said. Ta.
“We are optimistic and have conveyed our response to the Israel Party,” he said.
Blinken said the United States was “currently” considering its response to Hamas, adding that he would consult with Israeli government officials on Wednesday.
The framework for the proposal was agreed by negotiators in Paris late last month. CNN previously reported that the first phase of civilian hostage release would be carried out over a six-week hiatus, requiring the release of three Palestinian prisoners held by Israel for every civilian hostage returned from Gaza. Ta. For IDF soldiers, this rate is expected to rise even further, with the possibility of longer suspension periods beyond six weeks at a later stage.
Qatar, which is playing the role of main mediator in negotiations with Hamas, received a response from Hamas on Tuesday and conveyed it to Mr. Blinken, who arrived in the Qatari capital that day, sources told CNN. Blinken arrived in Doha after talks on Tuesday in Egypt, another key interlocutor, and Monday in Saudi Arabia.
Officials said Mr. Blinken’s reaction when he was informed of Hamas’s proposal was positive.
President Joe Biden, briefed on the response to Hamas, called it “a little overreach” in remarks to reporters late Tuesday, but gave no further details.
“We don’t know where it is. Negotiations are still ongoing.”
Officials close to the matter had expected Hamas to respond with a counter-offer, rather than a straight rejection or acceptance, to the proposal presented more than a week ago.
Sources said Hamas’ long-awaited counteroffer was “reasonable.” The official said the bill does not include two of the most prominent public demands: for Israeli soldiers to leave Gaza or for a deal to end the war.
Hamas said in a press statement on Tuesday: “We approach this proposal in a positive spirit, ensuring a comprehensive and complete ceasefire, ending aggression against our people, ensuring relief, shelter and reconstruction, and encircling the Gaza Strip.” and complete the prisoner exchange.” Specific details regarding the response were not disclosed.
Last week, senior Hamas leader Ismael Haniyeh said in a statement that “the consideration of new proposals for a ceasefire is based on the basis that all negotiations will lead to a complete cessation of aggression.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed on Tuesday that Israel had received Hamas’ response. “Hamas’ response has been passed on to Mossad by Qatari mediators,” the prime minister’s office told X. “The details are being thoroughly evaluated by officials involved in the negotiations.”
The next hurdle is Israel’s response. The push for a permanent ceasefire is one of the biggest challenges in long-term negotiations, as Prime Minister Netanyahu has vowed to continue the offensive in Gaza until the Hamas leader is killed and “complete victory” achieved. is likely to continue to be.
“We must continue our action in every part of the Gaza Strip because we will kill the Hamas leadership. We must not end the war by then. It will take time, not years. A few months,β Netanyahu said on Monday.
Since the hostages fell in November, the two sides have been unable to reach an agreement to release more hostages. The agreement resulted in a week-long cessation of fighting in exchange for the release of more than 100 hostages. A new agreement to release the more than 100 remaining prisoners would be a major step forward at a time of high tensions in the Middle East, amid growing fears of a broader regional conflict erupting.
A top US diplomat reiterated on Tuesday that the proposal presented to Hamas was a “serious” one that “aims to extend, not simply repeat, previous agreements.”
“While there is still much work to do, we continue to believe that an agreement is possible and indeed essential. And we will continue to work relentlessly to achieve it,” Blinken told reporters. He spoke at
This article has been updated with additional reporting.
CNN’s Ibrahim Hasbun and Kevin Liptak contributed to this report.
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