Qatar: Hostage release talks difficult

The Qatari Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Majed al-Ansari acknowledged on Tuesday that the negotiations on hostage and prisoner release between Israel and Hamas are “difficult from all aspects” though insisted that Doha is working hard to have the humanitarian ceasefire prolonged.

“Each party has its own demands and reservations. … But the toughest party was Israel,” the spokesperson stated at a press conference. He added that the number of people still held hostage cannot be confirmed, adding that “what we can only say with certainty is the number of captives being released.”