DOHA: Qatar, a key mediator, said negotiations for a Gaza truce and hostage release deal were in their “final stages” on Tuesday, expressing hope an agreement could be reached “very soon”.”The ball is now in Hamas´s court,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. “If Hamas accepts, the deal is ready to be concluded and implemented.”
Qatar foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari on Tuesday said the negotiations were in their “final stages”.
“We do believe that we are at the final stages... certainly we are hopeful that this would lead very soon to an agreement,” Ansari said, adding “until there is an announcement... we shouldn´t be over-excited”.
“We have reached a point where the major issues that were preventing a deal from happening were addressed,” he added.
A source briefed on the Doha negotiations said earlier that the heads of Israel´s intelligence agencies, the Middle East envoys for the incoming and outgoing US administrations, and Qatar´s prime minister had been due at the talks.
“Mediators will hold separate talks with Hamas,” the source said.
Israeli media and sources close to the talks said the first phase of a deal would see 33 Israeli hostages freed, while two Palestinian sources close to Hamas told AFP that Israel would release about 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange.
Israeli media also reported on Tuesday that under the proposed deal, Israel would be allowed to maintain a buffer zone inside Gaza during the implementation of the first phase.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was heckled in Washington during his address at the Atlantic Council event on the Middle East, called “bloody Blinken, Secretary of Genocide” and “We will not forgive you” by a woman protester in solidarity with Gaza.”Secretary of genocide, you have the blood of hundreds of thousands of innocent people on your hands,” shouted the woman protester.”Your legacy will be genocide. You will forever be known as Bloody Blinken, secretary of genocide. You have the blood of hundreds of thousands of innocent people on your hands! We will not forget, shame on you” she continued while being escorted out.”I respect your views. Please allow me to share mine. Thank you,” Blinken responded.Blinken faced two more interruptions, with another protester calling him a “monster” and a “war criminal .”Earlier, Gaza´s civil defence agency said Israeli air strikes and shelling killed at least 18 people across the territory on Tuesday, including children, while the Israeli military said it was targeting Hamas operatives.Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said the strikes primarily targeted Deir el-Balah, Gaza City and the Khan Yunis area.
The Israeli military told AFP that the air force conducted overnight “several strikes on Hamas terrorists who were involved in terror activities”.
“Last night was harsh and bloody,” Bassal told AFP, accusing Israel of conducting “dozens of air and artillery strikes across all areas of the Strip”.
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