Talks will continue on Monday in Doha between those involved in the Paris talks, CNN reported, citing a diplomat and sources privy to the matter.
Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani is heading to France on Tuesday for a two-day visit aimed at discussing the war on Gaza and the release of captives, AFP reported on Sunday, citing the Elysee.
The discussions come as Qatar plays a central role in mediation efforts aimed at releasing all captives from Hamas and a comprehensive ceasefire in Gaza. At least three French nationals are among the captives held by Hamas.
The Gulf state’s hosting of the Hamas office since 2012, under the United States’ request, made it a key bridge for dialogue.
“Qatar is notably working on the release of the hostages, which is a priority for us,” a French presidential official said, as quoted by AFP.
The official added that the high-level meeting in Paris will discuss “ongoing efforts to obtain a ceasefire…and enable massive aid to be provided to the Gazan population.”
Qatar and Egypt mediated a truce that lasted between November 24 and December 1, enabling the release of at least 110 Israeli and foreign captives from Gaza.
Paris then hosted a round of talks on January 28 with the attendance of officials from Qatar, Egypt, the U.S., and Israel.
The French capital hosted another round of talks on Friday under a climate of cautious optimism, with reports saying some progress was made yet more work was needed to reach a deal.
Israel’s war cabinet also reportedly planned to send a delegation to Qatar “in the coming days” to follow up on talks over a possible new Gaza deal.
Qatari, U.S. and Egyptian experts also reportedly met in Doha on Sunday for talks attended by representatives from Hamas and Israel, AFP reported, citing Egyptian state-linked media.
The Gulf state has yet to publicly comment on the reported meetings.
Speaking to CNN on Sunday, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the negotiators reached “an understanding” over the “basic contours” of a potential deal to release hostages.
“The representatives of Israel, the United States, Egypt and Qatar met in Paris and came to an understanding among the four of them about what the basic contours of a hostage deal for temporary ceasefire would look like. I’m not going to go into the specifics of that because it is still under negotiation in terms of hammering out the details of it,” Sullivan told CNN.
Sullivan added “there will have to be indirect discussions by Qatar and Egypt with Hamas because ultimately they will have to agree to release the hostages.”
“That work is underway. And we hope that in the coming days, we can drive to a point where there is actually a firm and final agreement on this issue. But we will have to wait and see,” he said.
Talks will continue on Monday in Doha between those involved in the Paris talks, CNN reported, citing a diplomat and sources privy to the matter.
Meanwhile, Hamas official, Bassem Naim, told CNN on Sunday that he is “not aware” of progress in the negotiations. Hamas’s main demand throughout the talks is a complete ceasefire in Gaza and the withdrawal of Israeli forces, both of which Israel rejected.
Despite claiming that the war is aimed at eliminating Hamas and releasing the captives, Israel has killed at least 30 of them in Gaza, according to figures by CNN.
The genocidal war on Gaza has killed more than 29,692 Palestinians while wounding 69,879 others, more than 70% of which are women and children.
The war has also displaced at least 80% of Gaza’s population, with more than one million crammed up in Rafah, where Israel plans to expand its ground invasion.
On Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced plans to approve the Rafah operation with the war cabinet.
