Times of Israel: Hostage talks to continue as Hamas softens under Qatari pressure

According to the Times of Israel, citing senior Arab diplomat, Egyptian and Qatari mediators believe that significant progress has been made in recent days in the negotiations between Israel and Hamas, despite reports to the contrary.

Progress was made after Qatari authorities warned Hamas that its leaders would be expelled from Qatar if the terror group didn't adopt its approach in the negotiations.

On March 12, a senior Hamas official told Al Arabiya that the group had accepted a modified version of a US proposal based on a framework already accepted by Israel. However, Hamas later issued a statement denying the report.

According to an Arab diplomat, the proposed ceasefire duration is six weeks, with a phased exchange of hostages for prisoners. 40 female, elderly, and wounded hostages will be released first. Ten Palestinians will be freed for each Israeli released.