Two main issues left to be resolved in negotiations, Hamas sources say - report

Two primary obstacles remain in the hostage deal/ceasefire negotiations in Doha, Hamas sources told the Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese news outlet Al-Akhbar on Thursday.

The first of these issues is Israel’s demand that Hamas provide it with “a list of the names of all living and deceased prisoners,” the sources told Al-Akhbar. The second reportedly concerns an Israeli demand that soldiers held hostage in Gaza be included “in lists of prisoners who meet the criteria for the humanitarian phase.”

According to the Hamas sources, the first demand would first require, at minimum, a week-long pause in the fighting that Hamas and other terror organizations in Gaza could use to locate and determine the status of the hostages remaining in the Strip.

Hamas reportedly sees the latter demand as an alteration to the previously agreed-upon ceasefire/hostage deal framework.

‘Status of ongoing negotiations in Doha is excellent’

Despite the reported sticking points, “the status of ongoing negotiations in Doha is excellent, with the majority of outstanding issues resolved, making it likely that we are very close to reaching an agreement,” the Hamas sources told the Lebanese outlet.

Hamas terrorist in front of Gaza hostage posters. (Illustrative) (credit: Hamas Military Wing/Handout via REUTERS, MIRIAM ALSTER/FLASH90)

Further, the sources told Al-Akhbar that Hamas believes that if Israel is genuinely motivated to complete a deal, the two issues of disagreement can be overcome.

Speaking to The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday, diplomats familiar with the negotiations noted that there were still several hurdles ahead in the ongoing talks.

According to the diplomats, Hamas had neither come up with a list of hostages it was willing to release nor provided mediators with a list of prisoners it would like released from Israeli prisons as a part of the deal.

Nevertheless, Arab media reported on Wednesday that security prisoners released in a potential could be subsequently deported to Qatar and Turkey.

Amichay Stein and Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.