Israel has done all it can diplomatically to secure the release of the hostages held captive in Gaza by the Hamas terrorist organization, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen agreed Monday in talks with his Israeli counterpart, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar.
The two men held a long private meeting in Jerusalem on Monday, followed by a broader meeting with their teams.
On the agenda was the need to release the hostages kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, 2023, the Iranian threat, the situation in Lebanon and Syria, and the bilateral relations between Israel and Denmark.
“I informed the Minister that there is progress in the negotiations to release the hostages. Israel very much wants to release the hostages and is working hard to reach a deal,” Sa’ar told reporters in a joint statement issued after the meetings.
“The Americans are making great efforts to reach a deal, and we thank them for that. We will soon know if the other side also wants to reach a deal. I hope we will see progress in the near future.”
Sa’ar said in a follow-up post on the X social media platform that Israel and Denmark share “common values and interests.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent Mossad director David Barnea, Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and IDF representative Major General Nitzan Alon to Doha on Sunday to continue the negotiations with Hamas, brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the United States.
Unconfirmed reports claimed Monday that the mediators set a midnight deadline for Hamas to respond to a “final” draft proposal crafted by Qatar.
Despite the media frenzy over a “formal declaration” by Hamas published in Arab media claiming “our prisoners will soon be freed,” there has been no confirmation on a final agreement between the terrorist organization and the Jewish State.
Such media feeding frenzies have taken place numerous times over the past year only to result in subsequent announcements that the talks had failed at the 11th hour due to the unwillingness of Hamas to compromise on its demands.
Sources with knowledge of the details of the current deal said there are still a number of outstanding matters that could determine whether an agreement is reached, Ynet reported Monday afternoon.
“It has to do with the situation in northern Gaza, the Philadelphi corridor, the mile-wide stretch along the border and the question of how many prisoners are released and who had veto power over that, including the release of convicted murderers and whether they would return home or be exiled,” according to a source quoted by the news outlet.
These are precisely the very same issues that have tanked every set of talks that appear to be “nearing a final agreement” since negotiations between Israel and Hamas rebooted after a brief temporary ceasefire and hostage release deal in November 2023 resulted in the freeing of 105 hostages. Hamas violated the terms of the deal on the final day, precluding any extension of the ceasefire.
The terrorist organization has been unwilling to compromise on its demands since that point.
