In a statement, ministry spokesman Majid bin Mohammed Al Ansari said talks between Qatar and Egypt, the mediators of the deal to release Hamas prisoners, were progressing “positively”.
The statement, cited by Qatari news agency QNA, said Qatar, Egypt and the United States were continuing to work to “guarantee a quick ceasefire” and ensure that both Israel and Hamas respect it.
Qatar’s position comes hours after Israel’s national security adviser promised on Wednesday that the release of hostages in the Gaza Strip and the planned start of fighting this morning would not happen before Friday.
Tzachi Hanegbi stressed that negotiations are still ongoing and offered no further explanation for the delay in the exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners, whose list has already been officially released by Israeli authorities.
A Palestinian official admitted to Agence France-Presse today that the start of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip had been delayed due to “last-minute” discussions over “the names of the Israeli hostages and the terms of their handover to third parties”.
“Qatar, in coordination with the Egyptians and the Americans, should announce the start of the ceasefire in the next few hours,” confirmed the official, whose name was not released by the agency.
The deal with Hamas calls for the release within four days of at least 50 of the roughly 240 hostages taken by the Islamist group on Oct. 7, the day it attacked Israel, according to the Israeli government.
For its part, Israel will release some Palestinian prisoners, mostly teenagers.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday he had warned US President Joe Biden that he would continue the war after a “humanitarian ceasefire” expired.
A surprise and large-scale attack by Hamas against Israel on October 7 resulted in more than 1,200 deaths and 240 hostages, according to Israeli officials.
In response, Israel declared war on Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007 and is classified as a terrorist group by the European Union and the United States, bombing much of the group’s infrastructure in Gaza and imposing a total blockade on the territory. Water supply, fuel and electricity.
According to Hamas, Israel’s retaliation has already killed more than 14,000 people.
The UN has indicated that two-thirds of the 2.4 million people who lived in the Gaza Strip have been displaced by the war, with the majority fleeing to the south.
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