The news of Tuesday 28 November on the conflict between Israel and Hamas, live. Palestinian detainees were freed “overnight” under the terms of the truce agreement that allowed the return of Hamas hostages
5.10pm – Wall Street Journal: «The mediators are aiming for a long-term truce and an end to the war» The main intermediaries in the hostage-prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas are pressing both sides for a long-term ceasefire that would extend the truce in Gaza beyond the current two-day extension and initiate talks that would end the war altogether .
The Wall Street Journal writes this quoting executives from Egypt and Qatar. A long-term ceasefire, according to these sources, would likely require Israel and Hamas to make hard-to-swallow concessions, such as exchanging Israeli soldiers for potentially thousands of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons. And it would require Israel to slow down the offensive in southern Gaza aimed at controlling the Strip and killing Hamas leaders.
Hamas may also have to accept demilitarization, according to the same sources. American and Israeli officials have said they expect the war to restart once the hostage and prisoner exchanges are concluded. But they stressed that the temporary truce is building the kind of trust needed to move forward with negotiations. “We are working to strengthen Qatar’s mediation role in reaching a truce and then a permanent ceasefire,” Qatar Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said today. Demonstrating the seriousness of the talks, CIA chief William Burns arrived in Qatar today for talks with Mossad chief David Barnea and the Prime Minister of Qatar.
