Qatar says it is negotiating with Hamas for the release of Israeli hostages

Several media outlets claim that Qatar is leading negotiations with Hamas to carry out the release of the Israeli and international hostages. The Chinese news agency Xinhua, as well as Reuters, cited Qatari sources.

However, other Israeli government sources deny that this is true. According to the latter, there have been no open negotiations for the release of the more than 100 hostages that the Islamic terrorist organization Hamas claims to have in its custody.

The source cited by Xinhua assured that Qatar is operating with the support of the United States to reach an agreement to release the women held by Hamas. In exchange, Israel would release a number of Palestinian women detained in state prisons.

Speaking to Reuters, Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani confirmed information that Xinhua previously reported about negotiations to release the women.

According to the Times of Israel, there are 36 Palestinian women imprisoned in Israeli detention centers that are of interest to Hamas. Abdel-Latif al Qanoua, spokesman for the terrorist group, declared on Monday that Hamas wants to "release all Palestinian prisoners" from Israel and end Israeli "provocations" in the West Bank and Jerusalem, especially at the Al Aqsa mosque.