Demonstrators protest against the Israeli government and for the release of Israelis held hostage in the Gaza Stripc outside Hakirya Base in Tel Aviv, January 11, 2025. Photo by Itai Ron/Flash90
As U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration day draws closer, signs indicate that there has been recent progress in the Israeli hostage release negotiations currently underway in Doha, Qatar.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden to update him on the progress of the talks. During the call, Biden “stressed the immediate need” for a ceasefire deal.
The leaders discussed recent changes in the Middle East following the Lebanon ceasefire and the fall of the Assad regime in Syria. According to the White House readout of the call, Netanyahu also thanked Biden for his “lifelong support of Israel and for the extraordinary support from the United States for Israel’s security and national defense.”
Following the call, the Prime Minister’s Office stated: “Netanyahu thanked President Biden and President-elect Donald Trump for cooperating in this sacred mission.”
While the White House readout made no mention of the new administration’s role in the hostage talks, on Sunday, Vice President-elect JD Vance told Fox News that if a deal is struck before inauguration day, “it will be because people are terrified that there’re going to be consequences for Hamas.”
Vance also said the Trump team is “hopeful there’s going to be a deal that’s struck towards the very end of Biden’s administration, maybe the last day or two.”
When asked about Trump’s vow that there would be “all hell to pay” if the Hamas terrorist organization doesn’t release the hostages before Jan. 20, Vance clarified that it means “enabling the Israelis to knock out the final couple of battalions of Hamas and their leadership. It means very aggressive sanctions and financial penalties on those who are supporting terrorist organizations in the Middle East.”
“It means actually doing the job of American leadership,” he added.
On Saturday, Netanyahu dispatched Mossad Director David Barnea, Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar, Maj.-Gen. (Res) Nitzan Alon, and his foreign policy adviser, Dr. Ophir Falk, to Doha for additional talks.
Israeli analysts observed that Netanyahu’s decision early last week not to send the delegation indicated a lack of progress, implying that the Israeli leader would only authorize their departure if a genuine compromise seemed attainable.
Additionally, during an interview on Sunday with the Maan news agency, Qadura Fares, the head of the Palestinian Prisoners Club, said the first stage of the hostage deal would see 25 Israeli hostages released in exchange for 48 Palestinian security prisoners, 200 prisoners serving life sentences, along with another 1,000 detainees, including women and children.
Fares said that those released would be allowed to return to their homes in East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, and the Palestinian Territories in Judea and Samaria, except those serving life sentences, who would be deported upon release.
On Monday morning, a Palestinian Authority (PA) source told Ynet news that Fares would depart for Qatar later in the day “to prepare the list of Palestinian prisoners to be released in the deal.”
Meanwhile, Al-Quds al-Arabi, a London-based Arab newspaper, reported that Israel and Hamas had come to an agreement regarding which places the IDF would withdraw its troops from in the first and second stages.
One source told the newspaper that some areas of the Netzarim Corridor would be vacated. The newspaper also claimed that Israel renewed its demand for a buffer zone along the Gaza Border, which would be taken from the Gaza side.
Similarly, Saudi TV channel Al-Hadath reported that the IDF would withdraw from “densely populated areas” of the Gaza Strip in the first phase – a process that would last for 42 days.
The TV channel appeared to confirm Fares’ statement, which said the Palestinian prisoners released in the deal would not be re-arrested on the same charges.
As progress appears to emerge, reports in Hebrew media suggest that Netanyahu has begun probing his right-wing coalition allies to assess their position on a potential ceasefire deal involving the release of hostages.
Several Netanyahu allies, predominantly from the Religious Zionism party, headed by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and the Jewish Power party, led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, have expressed opposition to any deal that would halt the military campaign against Hamas.
