Gaza truce talks 'gaining momentum' after US polls, says Qatar PM; discussions 'likely' to begin next week

Qatar’s prime minister said Saturday momentum had returned to talks aimed at securing a truce and hostage exchange deal in Gaza following the election of Donald Trump as US president.

“We have sensed, after the election, that the momentum is coming back,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani told the Doha Forum for political dialogue.

He spoke as a source close to the Hamas delegation in the talks told AFP that a new round of negotiations will “most likely” begin in the coming week.

Sheikh Mohammed said that while there were “some differences” in the approach to an agreement by the outgoing and incoming US administrations, “we didn’t see or recognise any disagreement on the goal itself to end the war”.

The Gulf emirate, along with the United States and Egypt, had been involved in months of unsuccessful negotiations for a Gaza truce and hostage release after 14 months of war.

More from World

Nepal's new PM pays homage to people died during the Gen Z protest in her first national address This Week in Explainers: How recovering from Gen-Z protests is a Himalayan task for Nepal

But in November, Doha announced it had put its mediation on hold, saying it would resume when Hamas and Israel showed “willingness and seriousness”.

Sheikh Mohammed said there had been “a lot of encouragement from the incoming administration in order to achieve a deal, even before the president comes to the office”, adding this had affected Qatar’s decision to get talks “back on track” over the past two weeks.

“We hope to get things done as soon as possible. We hope that the willingness of the parties to engage in a good faith continues,” he said.

Impact Shorts

More Shorts

‘The cries of this widow will echo’: In first public remarks, Erika Kirk warns Charlie’s killers they’ve ‘unleashed a fire’

Trump urges Nato to back sanctions on Russia, calls for 50–100% tariffs on China

The Hamas source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP: “Based on contacts with the mediators, we expect a new round of negotiations to begin in Cairo, most likely this week, to discuss ideas and proposals regarding a ceasefire and a prisoner exchange.”

The war in Gaza was sparked by Hamas’s surprise October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,208 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

During the attack, militants kidnapped 251 people, 96 of whom remain in Gaza, including 34 declared dead by the Israeli military.

Israel’s retaliatory military campaign in Gaza has killed at least 44,664 people, a majority civilians, according to figures from the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry which the UN considers reliable.

The US president-elect this week warned on social media of unspecified massive repercussions if the hostages were not released by the time he takes office next month.

Trump has vowed his staunch support for Israel and promised to rein back on occasional criticism voiced by outgoing President Joe Biden’s administration.

On Saturday, Qatar’s premier dismissed the prospect of his country facing greater pressure over the status of its political bureau for Hamas.

Sheikh Mohammed called the Hamas office, which the Gulf state has hosted since 2012 with the blessing of the United States, a “platform to convene between the different parties”.

Qatar was not “expected to enforce solutions” on the Palestinian militants, he added.