Qatar is hopeful about the release of more hostages captured by Hamas due to ongoing discussions, according to a foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari, Bloomberg reported.
Al-Ansari’s statement comes after Hamas released two American hostages Judith Raanan and her daughter Natalie Raanan on Friday, October 20.
Hamas’s Ezzedeen al-Qassam Brigades released hostages on humanitarian grounds after Qatari mediation efforts.
Al-Ansari told German Welt am Sonntag daily, “I can’t promise you this will happen today or tomorrow or after tomorrow. But we are taking a path that will very soon lead to the release of the hostages, especially civilians. We are currently working on an agreement under which all civilian hostages will be initially released.”
Hamas militants captured at least 212 Israelis, foreigners and dual citizens and transferred them to Gaza during the unprecedented attack on Saturday, October 7, which sparked the war.
Israel has launched a relentless bombardment and imposed a complete siege of the enclave, stating that it will not be lifted until Israeli hostages are released.
Those held include women, children, the elderly and people from other countries, along with some Israeli soldiers.
Hamas proposes releasing hostages in exchange for the end of Gaza bombardment and the release of 5,000 Palestinian prisoners, which includes women and children.
In Gaza alone, 4,651 Palestinians have been killed, including 1,873 children and 15,245 citizens wounded due to Israeli attacks as of Sunday.
On the Israeli side, at least 1,400 people have been killed, including 306 soldiers and 5,132 injured.
