Qatar hopes to announce an agreement today (21) to release the hostages held by Hamas since the October 7 attack. In return, Israel must guarantee a pause in the fighting, according to a diplomatic source and another source familiar with the negotiations.
US officials said that although the deal has not yet been completed, sources close to the negotiations are increasingly optimistic and believe that the many weeks of work are about to be rewarded with the release of hostages.
“It’s very close,” a senior US official told CNN .
Two Israeli sources also say a deal could be announced today. The release of the prisoners must be approved by the Israeli government, but it is expected that there will be no objections.
The deal would require the release of 50 women and children in exchange for a four- to five-day break in fighting. The proposal also calls for the release of three Palestinian prisoners for each hostage released, according to several sources.
Under the terms of the agreement, Hamas would also release women and children, in addition to the 50 people already foreseen in the proposal. The radical group insisted it could only proceed with the action after a full ceasefire was in place.
The pause in fighters could be extended so that more hostages could be released.
The people who could leave Gaza are of various nationalities. Among them, an American child, 3-year-old Abigail Edan – the youngest hostage whose parents were killed by Hamas, according to family members.
According to sources, during the days when the fighting stops, Israel will stop launching drones over northern Gaza for at least six hours a day.
Diplomatic sources and government officials, including US President Joe Biden, have struck a more optimistic tone in recent days about the progress of the negotiations.
But the risk is great, as any agreement could be undermined by events on the battlefield in Gaza.
On Monday night (20), the leader of Hamas said in a statement that the sides are “close to reaching a truce agreement”.
The latest development comes just a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the war cabinet met with the families of the hostages.
*CNN’s Kaitlan Collins contributed to this report
Source: CNN Brasil
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