Hamas suspends prisoner swap talks, Qatar tells Israel

By Anadolu staff

ISTANBUL (AA) – Qatar told Israel that Palestinian group Hamas has suspended talks for a prisoner swap deal, according to Israeli media on Thursday.

“Hamas told Qatari mediators that it demands a full Israeli troop withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and an end to the war on the first stage of any prisoner swap deal,” the Israeli public broadcaster KAN said, citing a source familiar with the talks.

There was no immediate comment from Qatar on the report.

Hamas is believed to be holding nearly 136 hostages following its cross-border attack into Israel on Oct. 7.

The Palestinian resistance group demands an end to Israel’s deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip for any deal on a prisoner swap with Israel.

The Israeli government has rejected calls for halting the Gaza war until destroying Hamas and releasing hostages.

Israel has launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, killing at least 25,700 Palestinians and injuring 63,740 others, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The Israeli war has left 85% of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while more than half of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio