It has been a busy weekend in Paris for the envoys from Egypt, Israel and Qatar. They have worked to bring about an exchange of the Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip. It is believed that there are still 132 hostages left in Gaza, but several also fear that more of them will have been killed in the fighting that has ravaged the area in recent months. Along with Egypt, Qatar has been an important mediator between Israel and Hamas and helped secure a week-long ceasefire and prisoner and hostage exchange in November. Photo: Mandel NGAN / AFP – An important and productive job has been done. And there is real hope as we move forward, Antony Blinken told the media after a meeting with Qatar’s prime minister in Washington on Monday. Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, who attended Sunday’s meeting in Paris, says good progress was made. – I hope to be able to pass this proposal on to Hamas and get it to a position where they can enter the process positively and constructively, says al-Thani. Several of the Israeli hostages are said to have been killed in the recent bombardment. Many of the hostages’ families fear that their loved ones will be among those killed. Photo: AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP Israel’s finance minister, the far-right nationalist Betzalel Smotrich, is not as hopeful as the Americans when it comes to getting all the hostages home. – We have an obligation to destroy Hamas and ensure that they cannot recover, says Israel’s Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich. Photo: Amir Cohen / Reuters – Anyone who looks you in the eye and tells you that we will bring back all the hostages alive is lying to you, Smotrich told the Israeli channel Channel 12, according to the Times of Israel. He is among several in Israel who believe that only a continuation of the war will lead to the release of the Israeli hostages. Protesters stormed the Knesset Last week, relatives of the Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip stormed a meeting in the Israeli national assembly, the Knesset. – Get them released now, now, now, was the slogan of the protesters. Hostage families stormed a committee meeting in the Knesset. Many are critical of the government’s handling of the situation with the hostages in Gaza. Photo: AP There have been several demonstrations recently for the country’s government to do more to free the hostages. This worries the finance minister, who believes that Israelis who ask for a ceasefire or for Israel to withdraw from Gaza are helping the enemy. – There is nothing that hurts our chance of bringing the hostages home more than the demonstrations, he says, referring to the demonstrations organized by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. The organization was created by the relatives of the Gaza hostages, and is demanding a new hostage agreement to bring home the remaining hostages. Relatives of the hostages in Gaza block the way into the Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv, 29 January 2024. Photo: AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP The finance minister also refuses to answer the question of whether he considers returning the hostages more important than removing Hamas from power. – We have an obligation to destroy Hamas and ensure that they cannot recover, says Smotrich.
ttn-69
Blinken has hope for a solution for Gaza hostages – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
