Analyst Youcef Bouandel says he is “optimistic” for several reasons of a new truce in the Israeli bombardment of Gaza amid as pressure increases on Israel.

“Firstly, the killing of the hostages by the Israeli forces themselves,” the international relations professor at Qatar University told Al Jazeera.

“Secondly, the families of the hostages have been putting pressure on Netanyahu and his government to do more,” Bouandel said.

He added that the third — and most important — reason is that a release of captives is unlikely while the bombardment of the Gaza Strip continues, noting that the release of dozens of captives last month after multi-party negotiations took place during a truce.

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