Israeli Delegation Returns from Hostage Talks in Paris with Tentative Progress

i24 News – Israel’s delegation returned on Saturday from a new summit in Paris on ceasefire and hostage negotiations, which reportedly may allow a transition to more detailed follow up talks.

A new and updated outline for a deal between Israel and Hamas was presented by mediators from the United States, Egypt and Qatar, source told Barak Ravid from Axios, which will now be discussed by the two parties.

According to the Ravid report, the progress could mean that the negotiations could advance to discussing the number and identity of hostages and prisoners that would be released as part of a deal.

A main caveat was whether Hamas would agree to the new framework, and one of the sources involved in the negotiations told Ravid that the progress would depend on the mediators’ ability to get the terror group to accept the latest outline.

As such, Israel’s War Cabinet would also meet on Saturday or Sunday to receive the update from the negotiations team and decide on whether to move forward with the new outline and hold further talks on the deal.

However, a parallel report from the Israeli public broadcaster Kan indicated that the follow-up talks will be held, adding that the talks in Paris focused on four demands from Hamas that Israel opposed, such as the complete withdrawal of the military from the northern Gaza Strip.

According to Kan, the mediators said Hamas was interested in moving forward with the deal.

In a third report, by Israel’s Channel 12, an Israeli diplomatic official described the summit as “Good talks, there is significant progress. There is a basis from which to build the plan and the negotiations.”