Gaza expects five days ceasefire in exchange to free Israeli captives

Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani has said that only minor differences remained to be resolved for a deal to free some of the about 240 prisoners Hamas seized in its Oct 7 attack on Israel.

In a joint press conference with the European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell the Qatari PM Al Thani said that the challenges facing the agreement are just practical and logistical. There has been good progress in the past few days.”

The European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called for the “unconditional release” of all captives and condemned Hamas for the attack.

Without giving any timetable Al Thani said that the deal is going through ups and downs from time to time throughout the last few weeks. But I think that you know I’m now more confident that we are close enough to reach a deal that can bring the people safely back to their home.

The Israeli ambassador to Washington said Israel hoped a significant number of hostages could be released by Hamas. “I’m hopeful we can have a deal in the coming days,” Michael Herzog said in an interview on ABC on Sunday.

Israel has so far refused all calls for a ceasefire.The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said no deal had been reached. However, he is under domestic pressures to free the hostages.

The civilian death toll in Gaza was “staggering and unacceptable,” The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said  as he renewed his appeal for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.

The israeli defense forces relentless air and ground campaign has since killed thousands of people in the Gaza Strip.

The Hamas government said on Sunday the death toll in the enclave has reached 13,000 since Oct 7.More than 5,500 children are among the dead, alongside 3,500 women, with 30,000 more people wounded.