QATAR: Qatari officials are “cautiously optimistic” that Israel and Hamas can reach a new cease-fire in the war in Gaza and the release of more hostages held by the militants, a Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.

Majed al-Ansari offered the favorable assessment after talks in Doha that included Israeli intelligence chief David Barnea. But Ansari said it was “too early to announce any successes.”

A six-week truce is being considered. It would be only the second in more than five months of fighting, with the first being a weeklong cease-fire in November.

A hiatus in the conflict could lead to the release of about 40 of the remaining 100 or so hostages held by Hamas in exchange for dozens of Palestinians jailed by Israel. It could also have Israel allowing more food and humanitarian aid into Gaza.

One Hamas official said the proposed pact calls for Israeli forces to withdraw from “all cities and populated areas.”

But the details have yet to be resolved, and negotiations could take days or a couple weeks, officials said. The negotiations have already extended for weeks without resolution.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed in recent days to push ahead with a planned attack on Rafah, a town near the Gaza-Egypt border, to root out more Hamas militants.

At the same, the Israeli leader has agreed, at U.S. President Joe Biden’s request, to send a delegation to Washington early next week to discuss how Israel might be able to achieve its military aims without a Rafah invasion while ensuring the safety of more than a million Palestinians sheltering in the region.

(VOA)