Families of Israeli captives in Gaza arrive in Qatar to pressure for prisoners swap

By Ahmed Asmar

ANKARA (AA) - A group of family members of Israeli captives held in Gaza arrived in Qatar on Friday in an attempt to push for a new prisoner swap deal between Israel and the Hamas group.

Qatar is the main mediator between Israel and Hamas, which, alongside Egypt and the US, reached a one-week humanitarian pause in fighting in Gaza that included a prisoners exchange.

According to Israeli Channel 12, the group consists of members of six captives and will meet officials involved in the mediation efforts.

The channel reported that the delegation, for the first time in Qatar, will meet with Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and US ambassador to the Gulf nation Timmy Davis.

There has been no official comment yet regarding the visit.

On Thursday, the Israeli army revised the number of Israeli captives in Gaza from 129 to 136.

“136 Israelis are still held in the Gaza Strip, including 3 civilians who were initially reported missing but later turned out to be among the hostages held in Gaza,” Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari said.