Qatar’s Foreign Minister, Mohammed Al-Khulaifi, said that the possibility of freeing “all civilians” kidnapped by Hamas in the Gaza Strip “is possible within a few days”, if “the fighting ends”.
In an exclusive interview with the British network Sky News, Al-Khulaifi, one of Hamas’ most experienced negotiators on the issue of the release of the abductees, explained that “the negotiations are difficult”, underlining at the same time that “progress is being made ”.
Hamas has held 224 people, most of them civilians, since the unprecedented attack launched on Israel on October 7, which killed more than 1,400 people, most of them civilians and including women and children, according to Israeli authorities. .
On the other hand, Israel responded to the attacks with violent bombardments on Gaza, killing more than 7,000 people, most of them civilians, including women and children, according to the latest statistics from the Strip’s health authorities.
According to the Israeli army, the families of 224 abductees were contacted to inform them that their relatives were being held in Gaza.
“Decisive role”… All eyes are on Qatar in the Hamas hostage crisis
Qatar, which maintains good relations with Western governments and Hamas, plays a key role in efforts to free hostages held by the armed Palestinian movement following its surprise attack on Israel, with other countries expressing their willingness to help.
Al-Khulaifi said in his statements to Sky News that he was “optimistic about achieving a breakthrough in the kidnappers’ dossier”, adding: “Our goal is to release all civilian hostages. This is what we are working on and we want to achieve .”
Hamas has in fact released only 4 kidnappers, an American mother and her daughter, and two elderly Israeli women.
Al-Khulaifi said: “We are still optimistic. We are doing our best and hope we can achieve the goal in the next few days.”
He added: “If the mediating state wants to carry out its mission in the best possible way, we need to reach a period of calm. We need a period in which we can talk logically with both sides and arrive at positive initiatives.”
He continued: “Any escalation, whatever it is, will make our mission more difficult, so we are trying to send these messages to our partners and friends.”
On the other hand, Al-Khulaifi expressed his “concern” about the lack of aid reaching Gaza, describing the situation as “extremely critical”, adding: “People in Gaza need humanitarian aid today more than ever” .
Qatar plays a central role in the abduction case due to its relationship with Hamas, as it hosts members of the Palestinian movement’s political bureau on its territory.
At the same time, the small Gulf state has close relations with the United States and hosts the largest American base in the region on its territory.
During his recent visit to Doha after the outbreak of war, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken praised Qatar for its “urgency” in efforts to persuade Hamas to release the abducted people.