Qatar-No Breakthrough On Gaza Deal, But 'Upbeat' On Talks

Qatari Foreign Ministry spox states that "There is no breakthrough to announce on Gaza ceasefire-hostage deal," and that "There is no agreement between Hamas and Israel on any of the main issues linked to a Gaza ceasefire." Nevertheless, spox claims that "Qatar is upbeat and optimistic on Gaza mediation talks."

• These comments would seem to stand in contrast to those from US President Joe Biden, who claimed that a ceasefire could be possible “I hope by the end of the weekend...My national security adviser tells me that we’re close. [...] My hope is by next Monday, we’ll have a cease-fire.”
• The NYT also reports that Israel is set to change strategy in negotiations, claiming that Israel, "could release a group of high-profile Palestinian prisoners [...] in exchange for the freedom of some of the Israeli hostages [...]. The change [...] is significant because it could help persuade Hamas to release Israeli soldiers captured in October and agree to a deal that would temporarily pause the fighting..."
• There is focus on whether a ceasefire-hostage deal can be in place by the evening of 10 March, when the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins. Biden claimed that "there’s been an agreement by the Israelis that they would not engage in activities during Ramadan" but this has not been confirmed by Israel.
• Cabinet member Benny Gantz said that if Israel's hostages were not released by the start of Ramadan IDF operations would continue, including the prospect of an assault on the city of Rafah.