Talks to free Gaza hostages make some progress but two sides still ‘far’ apart

talks to free gaza hostages make some progress but two sides still ‘far’ apart

Photograph: Amir Levy/Getty Images

A new round of negotiations to obtain the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza by Hamas has made incremental progress, sources close to the talks say, signalling the end to months of deadlock and raising hopes among relatives as the war passes its 100th day.

New details emerged in recent days of a deal to allow medicine – such as vital prescription drugs – to reach the hostages, along with an increase in humanitarian aid into Gaza.

On Friday, the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed the agreement, which should come into effect this week. Negotiators are currently discussing how to deliver the medications and aid with Israel and Hamas.

About 250 hostages were seized by Hamas during their unprecedented attack in southern Israel on 7 October, according to Israeli figures. At least 130 remain in captivity.

The families of hostages are campaigning for the Israeli government to ramp up efforts to get them freed, saying the captives were in poor health, some with complex illnesses, others with injuries. Some families gathered in an area near the Gaza border in recent days to broadcast messages of support to their loved ones using loudspeakers.

A diplomat briefed on the talks in Qatar said a visit by the families of hostages earlier this month had “fast-tracked” discussions on getting vital supplies to the captives, providing an initial if limited success after talks resumed earlier this month.

“Both [Hamas and Israel] have shown willingness to allow the delivery of the medicine,” the diplomat said. “Discussions are ongoing with both sides and with international NGOs …. to allow the delivery of medications to Israeli hostages and Palestinian civilians in Gaza as soon as possible.”

Some relatives of hostages have called for the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit them to deliver medicine and assess their conditions. The ICRC has publicly declared its willingness to visit the hostages.

Sources in touch with Hamas said they were ready to allow the ICRC to conduct a visit but only if there was a temporary ceasefire that would allow the captives to be moved from any strategically important locations.

Israeli officials have said they believe some of hostages in Gaza are being kept close to senior Hamas leaders in the territory to protect against Israeli air strikes, and have so far refused to pause their offensive. Hamas have not directly commented on the claim.

On Sunday, Hamas aired a video showing three hostages. The undated 37-second video of Noa Argamani, 26, Yossi Sharabi, 53, and Itai Svirsky, 38, ended with the chyron: “Tomorrow we will inform you of their fate.”

At the weekend, Netanyahu told Israelis that the war would continue until “total victory” with Hamas “eliminated” and the hostages freed. Analysts have increasingly questioned how these aims can be reconciled.

Relatives of remaining and released hostages organised events in Israel on Sunday – the 100th day of the hostages’ captivity – to draw domestic and international attention to the plight of the hostages.

“We are calling on everyone, everywhere to put on pressure to make a deal happen. We need the people of Israel, the people of the world, to help us,” said Daniel Lifshitz, whose grandfather Oded, 84, was abducted from his home on a kibbutz close to Gaza on 7 October.

More than 1,200 people died in the 7 October attacks in Israel, mostly civilians. Israel’s offensive has killed at least 23,968 people, mostly women and children, according to an updated toll from the Palestinian health ministry in Ramallah.

Negotiations on the fate of the hostages stalled after the release of 105 in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel jails during a brief truce in November. Israel has said 25 believed are now thought to be dead.

Talks began again about three weeks ago, with Qatar as the principal mediators. Israeli officials also visited Cairo last week in an effort to restart discussions.

A diplomat briefed on the talks in Doha said the assassination of Hamas senior leader Saleh al-Arouri in Beirut two weeks ago had “raised the stakes” of the talks but had not derailed them.

The overall focus of the negotiations remains a cessation of hostilities and more aid for Gaza in return for the release of hostages, initially females, elderly and sick people, they added.

In the absence of agreement on the most important questions, negotiators appear to be focusing on more minor issues to break a months-long deadlock.

Lifshitz, who met senior Qatari officials in Doha last week, said he had been told that “both sides are still far [apart] but it is possible to reach an agreement”.

“The Qataris asked Israel to be more creative, to try to move things forward for a deal, to understand there is a big price that needs to be paid. Any pause [in fighting] will definitely accelerate the negotiations,” he said.

During the renewed talks, there has been an increased focus on getting humanitarian assistance into Gaza, where the majority of vital medical infrastructure has been devastated in the 100 days since fighting began. The provision of insulin, for example, to the territory has been under discussion since the beginning of the war.

The discussions also involved US and Egyptian officials. Cairo is thought to be proposing an ambitious series of ceasefires and releases that would lead to an end of the war. Hamas have previously said they would release all the hostages if Israel freed thousands of Palestinian prisoners from its jails.

Hamas has refused to discuss a demand by Israel for the release of some hostages in return for allowing some of the 1 million people in Gaza displaced by the ongoing offensive to return to their homes in the north of territory, a source close to the group said.

Israeli officials said on Friday that no such demand had been made and that they were collaborating with the UN to allow the future return of Palestinians to north Gaza.

The ICRC has long pushed for access to the hostages, as well as to Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Rights groups have expressed alarm at recent detentions of thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza and widespread reports of their mistreatment.

Relatives of hostages are calling on the ICRC to call clearly for a ceasefire and access.

“We haven’t had any news about my grandfather since about 10 weeks ago and back then we don’t think he was getting any of the medicine he needs for his high blood pressure. And without the medicine I don’t think he can survive,” said Lifshitz.

The ICRC described the work being carried out to ensure the delivery of medications to the hostages as “extremely complicated and delicate”.

A further obstacle to the ongoing talks are divisions among decision-makers in both the Israeli government and Hamas. The Israeli cabinet is deeply divided between moderates pushing for a deal and rightwingers who believe the military effort to “crush” Hamas should take precedence. The moderates narrowly won debates before the November ceasefire, but Netanyahu has backed the hardliners since.

Hamas is also divided, with senior officials outside Gaza and leaders in the territory holding different views on potentially acceptable deals.

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