Qatar Says Hamas Sent ‘Positive’ Response Over Hostage Talks

(Bloomberg) -- The Palestinian militant group Hamas has delivered a “positive” response to a proposal to halt fighting in the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of some Israeli hostages, Qatar’s prime minister said, offering hope that a deal could be reached soon.

Qatar received the group’s response about the general framework for an agreement to release some of the hostages, Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said at a briefing alongside visiting Secretary of State Antony Blinken, without detailing Hamas’ answer.

“The response includes some remarks, but overall it is positive,” Al Thani said. 

Officials declined to characterize Hamas’s response or whether it would lead to a breakthrough in the talks. Asked about the Hamas response on Wednesday, President Joe Biden said “there’s been some movement.” But he signaled he didn’t anticipate immediate progress, calling the group’s response “a little over the top.” He didn’t elaborate.

Blinken is on his fifth trip to the region since Hamas, which is designated a terrorist group by the US and the European Union, attacked Israel, killing about 1,200 people and seizing some 240 hostages. The US has sought to ease the fighting and moderate Israel’s response after it launched a punishing military campaign on the Gaza Strip that’s killed some 27,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry there.

Blinken is set to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Wednesday, according to a State Department release of the envoy’s schedule.

Along with Egypt and Qatar, the US has sought a fresh cease-fire deal to release some of the remaining dozens of hostages and halt the fighting, calling it the best way to end the conflict and ease tensions that continue to flare in the region.

Blinken was in Doha after a stop in Riyadh, where he met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. The top US diplomat said prince, known as MBS, reiterated the kingdom’s “strong interest” in a normalization deal with Israel but needs to see a cease-fire in Gaza and a “credible, time-bound path to the establishment of a Palestinian state.”

The war in Gaza complicated the US-led negotiations over a potential normalization deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Read more: Saudi Says No Israeli Ties Unless Gaza ‘Aggression’ Halted 

Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry informed the Biden administration there will be no diplomatic ties with Israel unless the “aggression” against Gaza is stopped and Israel recognizes the Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as the capital, according to a statement carried by the kingdom’s news agency SPA. 

Blinken said the US is studying the Hamas response, which has also been shared with Israel. He said he’ll talk about it more when he goes to Israel on Wednesday.

“The best path forward, the most effective path forward right now, is to get an extended period of calm and to work toward an end to the conflict is through an agreement on the hostages,” Blinken said.

(Updates with Blinken schedule to meet Netanyahu and statement from Saudi Arabia.)

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