In a continuation of the central mediation role Qatar has played in the Hamas-Israel hostage and prisoner release deal, a team from the Qatari intelligence service arrived at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport on Saturday for an “indefinite stay”, to further negotiations, Reuters reported.
The US and its allies have exerted significant pressure on Israel to extend the four-day ceasefire, which commenced last Friday. Under the temporary truce, around forty Israeli hostages and varying numbers of foreign nationals have been reunited with their families after release by Hamas, while nearly120 Palestinian prisoners have been released by Israel in return.
Qatar, hosting the central Hamas offices, maintains “cordial relations with Iran, Israel’s arch-foe, which backs Hamas”, the news agency stated. Israel’s intelligence service, Mossad, closely collaborates with its Qatari counterpart, coordinating with the Hamas offices in Doha.
Qatar’s balancing act, as a strategically vital Gulf emirate, places its US ally under pressure to influence Hamas-supporting countries.
On Sunday, US President Joe Biden expressed the aim to “keep this pause going beyond tomorrow so that we can continue to see more hostages released and surge more humanitarian relief into Gaza for those in need”.
Both Hamas and the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have indicated a willingness to extend the temporary ceasefire as long as a number of hostages and prisoners are exchanged on a daily basis.
Though an important “first step” in the Israel-Hamas conflict, “much more is needed to find a way out of the crisis”, EU Minister of Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell said on Monday, according to Reuters.
