Qatar Prime Minister: "Some Progress in Hostage Negotiations with Hamas"

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar.
[Image source=UPI Yonhap News]

There has been some progress in negotiations for the release of around 200 hostages abducted by the Palestinian armed group Hamas to the Gaza Strip.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, who is acting as a mediator in the hostage negotiations, said at a joint press conference on the 25th (local time) with Hakan Fidan, Turkey's Foreign Minister, who visited Qatar, "There is some progress in the negotiations with Hamas regarding the release of hostages."

He added, "We hope a breakthrough in the negotiations will be achieved soon." He also lamented, "The number of children who have died in the Gaza Strip has surpassed the number of children who died during the war in Ukraine, but we do not see the same reaction (to the situation in Ukraine)."

A spokesperson for the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that day, "Our priority is to ensure the hostages return home safely and are not harmed in crossfire."

He also said, "To this end, Qatar is focusing on mediation for the release of hostages. This is separate from broader discussions on easing tensions," expressing concern that "Israel's ground offensive in the Gaza Strip will complicate the discussions on hostage release."

On the 7th, Hamas infiltrated armed militants into southern Israel, committing massacres on farms and other locations and abducting many people as hostages, taking them to the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli military has announced that the number of hostages identified so far is 222. Hamas released two American women, a mother and daughter, on the 20th, and on the 23rd, they additionally released two elderly Israeli women. Hamas stated that they released them on humanitarian grounds and that the release was achieved through mediation by Qatar and Egypt.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.