The French presidency announced on Sunday that Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani of Qatar, whose nation has been a major mediator in the Gaza conflict, will be meeting with President Emmanuel Macron this week in Paris.
According to the Elysee, the ruler’s travel to France on Tuesday and Wednesday will mark his first state visit since taking over the small but extremely powerful and gas-rich emirate in 2013. In order to reach an agreement on a ceasefire in Gaza and free further captives taken by the Palestinian militant group during its onslaught on Israel on October 7, Qatar has emerged as a crucial mediator between Israel and Hamas. Although it has cordial ties with the US, it also houses Hamas’ political department. “Qatar is notably working on the release of the hostages, which is a priority for us,” said a French presidential official. Three French nationals are among those still held by Hamas. The discussions will also focus on “ongoing efforts to obtain a ceasefire… and enable massive aid to be provided to the Gazan population,” added the official. A previous week-long truce in November saw more than 100 hostages and 240 Palestinian prisoners freed but so far no other such deal has been agreed despite intense efforts over the last weeks. Egyptian, Qatari and US experts met in Doha on Sunday for talks also attended by Israeli and Hamas representatives, state-linked Egyptian media said, seeking to secure a truce before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The Doha talks followed a weekend meeting in Paris, without Hamas, where representatives “came to an understanding among the four of them about what the basic contours of a hostage deal for temporary ceasefire would look like”, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told CNN.
Around 1,160 individuals in Israel lost their lives as a result of Hamas’s unprecedented strike, the majority of whom were civilians, according to an AFP calculation of official Israeli data. This attack precipitated the start of the conflict.
Around 250 Israeli and foreign hostages were also taken by Hamas terrorists; 130 of them are still in Gaza, including 31 who are thought to be dead, according to Israel.
According to the most recent count released on Sunday by the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, at least 29,692 individuals have died as a result of Israel’s retaliatory offensive, the majority of them were women and children.
