Qatar expresses optimism about Hamas hostage crisis – Israel chooses clear words Terror attack in Brussels: Minister resigns due to mistake

Following the release of two American hostages from captivity by the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip, mediator Qatar expressed optimism about the possible release of more civilians. “We are on a path that will very soon lead to the release of the hostages, especially the civilians,” Majid al-Ansari, spokesman for the Qatari Foreign Ministry, told “Welt am Sonntag”.

According to Hamas and the US government, Qatar brokered the release of the two US citizens. It was the first release of Hamas hostages in the Gaza Strip since the organization’s terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, in which more than 200 people were kidnapped.

Relations with Islamist groups

The release confirms Hamas’ willingness in principle to release the hostages, Al-Ansari said. “We are currently working on an agreement under which all civilian hostages must be released first,” Al-Ansari said.

The fact that Qatar is now again a much sought-after mediator – just as it was after the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan in 2021 – has to do with its relations with Islamist groups on the one hand and with Western states on the other.

The Arab Gulf state has been one of Hamas’s main supporters for about fifteen years. Unlike in the case of Iran, the aid does not consist of arms deliveries. Instead, the wealthy emirate mainly supports the Islamist movement politically and provides financial aid.

Photos and video show the release of hostages

Two weeks after the start of the war, Hamas released two American hostages, Judith Tai Raanan and her daughter Natalie Shoshana Raanan.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the Israeli responsible for the kidnapped and missing persons, Brigadier General Gal Hirsch, received the two at the Gaza Strip border. In one photo they are seen holding hands with deer, accompanied by soldiers. Hamas also released a video of the hostage transfer.

Israel: Hamas is a murderous terrorist organization

The Israeli army wrote on Telegram on Saturday about the release of the two American hostages:

Hamas’ military wing had earlier announced the release of the two American citizens in “response to Qatar’s efforts.”

Following Hamas’s devastating terrorist attacks, Israel wants to eliminate the Islamic organization’s military capabilities and rule. More than 1,400 people fell victim to Hamas attacks in Israel. At least 203 people, including several Germans, were also kidnapped.

The number of deaths is increasing

Since the Hamas attacks, Israel has been bombing targets in the Gaza Strip. According to the latest information from the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry, 4,137 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 70 percent of them children and women. More than a thousand people are missing. They were probably under the rubble.

Meanwhile, pressure is mounting on Israel to delay a ground offensive in the hermetically sealed coastal enclave to buy more time for the release of even more hostages held by Hamas, as the Wall Street Journal reported. Israel will not participate in the “Summit for Peace” in Egypt, which will be attended by numerous heads of state and government from the Middle East region, as well as UN representatives and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. According to a spokesperson, they were not invited and did not participate.

Meanwhile, aid supplies for the people of the Gaza Strip remain stuck in Egypt. The reason is the requirements for the opening of the border post and its passage to people in need, UN Secretary General António Guterres said before the Rafah border crossing on the Egyptian side. “Behind these walls we have two million people suffering immensely,” Guterres said.

Expert: War in the Middle East strengthens enemies of rules-based world order

The war between Israel and Hamas and the threat of regional expansion could drive the West and the rest of the world even further apart, an expert said. “From a global perspective, the war in the Middle East threatens to strengthen the enemies of a rules-based world order worldwide,” Israel expert Stephan Vopel of the Bertelsmann Foundation told the German news agency.

Iran, but also China and Russia benefited from “anti-Israel sentiments among the populations of Arab and Islamic states.”

At the same time, the conflict threatens to “jeopardize the West’s rapprochement with the states of the South,” as the West is accused of taking one-sided sides in favor of Israel, Vopel said.

(dsc/sda/dpa)