Qatar is working to persuade Hamas to release the women, children and elderly hostages the terror group is currently holding in Gaza after it captured them in an attack last week in southern Israel, a diplomatic official told The Times of Israel.

Hamas, represented at the talks by its leader abroad, Ismail Haniyeh, initially told Qatar it was willing to hand over the hostages in exchange for Israel’s release of 36 Palestinian women and teenagers held for security reasons in Israeli prisons. This was reported by a diplomatic source, reports News.ro.

But the offer was not accepted by Israel, which is mainly focused on advancing its military campaign to root out Hamas, the source added.

Despite Israel’s refusal, talks brokered by Qatar are still ongoing, a diplomatic official says.

A second source familiar with the talks told The Times of Israel that some Hamas officials recognize that taking women, children and the elderly hostage gives Israel more international legitimacy to massively expand its military campaign against the terror group.