Israeli and American officials expressed cautious optimism on Wednesday, citing slight progress in hostage negotiations held in Doha. White House envoy Steve Witkoff recently joined the discussions. The Israeli delegation extended their stay in Qatar at Witkoff's request to allow for talks to continue.
While there was no agreement on Witkoff’s proposal to secure the release of all hostages in two stages, mediators have suggested a compromise: small, possibly very limited, initial releases to create momentum for further negotiations in the coming days. Another option under consideration was adopting Witkoff’s proposal to release 10 hostages but doing so in more stages, but officials in Jerusalem denied such an option was being negotiated.
Officials familiar with the talks said their American counterparts were deeply disturbed by reports of torture suffered by the hostages and remain determined to secure additional releases at any cost. However, they also expressed a strong preference to avoid a return to full-scale fighting. Both Israeli and U.S. officials agree that an extended ceasefire without further hostage releases was unsustainable, leading to discussions about setting a firm deadline to reach an agreement soon.
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Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu summoned a security assessment with ministers Israel Katz, Gideon Sa’ar, Bezalel Smotrich, and Ron Dermer, along with the heads of the Mossad, the Shin Bet, and National Security Council chief Tzachi Hanegbi.
First published: 20:03, 03.12.25