A member of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas’ political office in Doha said Monday that the militants are not interested in negotiating a prisoner exchange with Israel while hostilities are ongoing.
Potential talks on the fate of up to 150 people held captive by Hamas increased urgency after the group threatened to begin murdering its prisoners if Israel conducted air operations in the Gaza Strip without prior notice to inhabitants.
However, an informed source told AFP that Qatar is pushing efforts to broker a prisoner swap between Israel and Hamas in the aftermath of the Palestinian group’s surprise strike over the Gaza border.
Discussions on the release of dozens of persons kidnapped during the Islamist group’s incursion into southern Israel on Saturday have made “some headway,” according to a source briefed on the negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Hamas official Hossam Badran had earlier told AFP: “The military operation is still continuing… therefore there is currently no chance for negotiation on the issue of prisoners or anything else.”
“Our mission now is to make every effort to prevent the occupation from continuing to commit massacres against our people in Gaza, which directly target civilian homes,” he added from Doha.
At least 800 people have been killed in Israel since the surprise offensive.
At least 687 people have been killed in Gaza as a result of Israel’s retaliatory air attacks on the Palestinian territory.
Qatar has hosted a Hamas political office for over a decade and is one of the group’s main supporters.
On Saturday, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh delivered a video message from Qatar, which was broadcast on the militants’ Al-Aqsa television channel, stating his organization was on the “verge of a great victory” and demanding the release of Palestinian detainees.
Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, called Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas on Sunday, stating Qatar was “making all its diplomatic efforts with various concerned parties” to de-escalate the issue.