For the first time since the current round of talks began, Palestinian Arab sources involved in the negotiations on a hostage release deal expressed cautious optimism on Friday, in a conversation with Kan 11 News, about the chances of reaching understandings that could lead to a deal.
According to the sources, there is effective two-way pressure from Qatar and Egypt to achieve a deal, with the United States intensively pushing the mediators. The Palestinian Arab sources noted that Turkey, which has recently become more involved in the matter, is encouraging and pressing Hamas to reach a deal with Israel.
The sources mentioned a sense of fatigue on the part of Hamas but also claimed to have seen fatigue on Israel's side. These conditions, they said, create an understanding that the pressure, encouragement, and mutual fatigue might lead to a breakthrough in the negotiations.
According to an Israeli source quoted in the report, there has been progress in the talks between Israel and Hamas for a gradual release of hostages as part of the humanitarian phase of the deal. The current discussions include a partial release of hostages, with foreign sources indicating that, as in the previous framework discussed, the initial focus is on releasing the female hostages first.
The mediators believe that if a limited deal for releasing hostages does proceed, it could create a dynamic that would eventually lead to a full agreement, including the release of all hostages, an end to the war, and the withdrawal of forces, even from the Philadelphi Corridor.
Meanwhile, an Israeli official commented on the talks on the hostage deal and told Channel 12 News, "An agreement within a month is not unreasonable. Progress is being made in the negotiations every day, but we are still waiting for a breakthrough."
On Thursday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Hamas is moving closer to a deal with Israel.
For the first time, the report said, Hamas has indicated that it would agree to a deal in which Israeli troops would remain stationed in Gaza, including in the Philadelphi Corridor near the southern border.
It has also provided a list of the remaining hostages to the mediators, a step it has refused since the first ceasefire collapsed.
During previous rounds of indirect talks between Israel and Hamas, the United States had been pushing an outline for a ceasefire and hostage release deal that President Joe Biden first laid out in May, but Hamas rejected that proposal and every other proposal that has been presented to it.
More recently, Hamas put out an official statement, saying that it is interested in a deal to end the war which began after it launched an attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
However, in that statement, Hamas again insisted that any agreement must include an end to the war and a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)