Hostage talks 'advancing slowly,' Israeli delegation to head to Qatar

Following the prime minister's approval, The Hostages Families Forum welcomed the decision.

By AMICHAI STEIN, JERUSALEM POST STAFF JANUARY 2, 2025 20:37 Updated: JANUARY 2, 2025 22:02

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU leads a cabinet meeting at the Kirya in Tel Aviv, last Sunday. The prime minister has made little secret of his plan to remain in office after the war, the writer notes (photo credit: MIRIAM ALSTER/FLASH90)

Talks on the Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas reached some progress, but “are advancing slowly,” an Israeli source told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.

The official added that Hamas has not yet handed over the list of hostages still alive that would be released in a deal.

Hamas has claimed that it cannot reach all of the hostages and will need several days after the ceasefire has already begun to compile the list. However, “This is a false claim. Hamas has the capability to do it now, they just don’t want” to produce the list, said the official.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved the continuation of hostage deal and ceasefire negotiations in Doha on Thursday evening, Israeli media reported. The Israeli delegation to the talks is set to depart for Qatar on Friday.

A chair is left in front of posters with pictures of hostages, who were kidnapped during the deadly October 7 attack on Israel by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, April 26, 2024. (credit: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)

As the clock counts down to the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump on January 20, the question remains if it will affect or pressure Israel and Hamas to reach some kind of a deal.

A source with knowledge of the matter told the Post, “Mediators are engaged in a serious and continuous effort to bridge gaps. The dynamic has changed. There is some movement and even some flexibility. But it’s not a done deal.”

There are still 100 hostages held by Hamas that have been held captive since October 7, 2023. Hamas kidnapped 251 when it carried out the massacre, mostly civilians.

The Hostages Families Forum welcomed the prime minister's decision to send the Israeli delegation to Qatar. "We must not miss the window of opportunity." the forum wrote. "The 100 hostages held deep in the Hamas tunnels in Gaza have no time for feet-dragging in negotiations. We demand that Netanyahu grant the team full authority to secure an agreement that will ensure the return of all hostages, without exception—those alive for rehabilitation and the murdered and fallen for burial." 

'Only continued military pressure will bring results'

The Tikvah Forum, which represents some families of hostages, conversely, was not pleased with the delegation's approval.

"When we pursue Hamas and its terror financier, Qatar, the release of the hostages drifts further away," the Tikvah Forum stated. "This behavior portrays us as weak, and the enemy is taking advantage of this to continue to outwit and abuse us. Only continued pressure, reflected in a full takeover of the northern Gaza Strip, will bring results."

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The military pressure, "along with a firm demand that no Palestinian return to [northern Gaza] until all the hostages are returned, will bring Hamas to release everyone," the Tikvah Forum added.

"Hamas fears losing control of the northern Gaza Strip above all. We must listen to it, understand its fear and hit it where it hurts the most."