On Qatar - Zvi Bar'el in Haaretz:

‘Qatar had the distinct privilege of being the first to announce the good news that negotiations for the release of hostages held by Hamas had been completed.
On Tuesday afternoon, Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said that his country’s mediation efforts had reached a "critical and final" stage and that “it has surpassed the core and pivotal issues, leaving only limited matters, adding that all sides are very close to reaching an agreement.”’

(…)

‘The deal stated that Hamas would free 50 women and children held hostage. The release would take place over several days, with 150 Palestinian prisoners exchanged. Hamas will try to locate other civilian hostages and, if found, will return them.’

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‘But the most interesting clause in the agreement that was ignored in the briefing by Israeli officials was an agreement to withdraw its forces from Salah al-Din Road, the main artery between north and south Gaza and the only route for the thousands of displaced people from the north.
Israel, according to the Al-Akhbar report, agreed not to stop civilians traveling on it even if they are heading north. If there is indeed such a clause, it means that Hamas fighters will have five uninterrupted days to move back and forth between the two parts of the enclave.
The terms of the agreement illustrate the difficult dilemmas Israel faced, especially concerning the duration and conditions of the cease-fire. Israel is well aware that it will give Hamas critical time to reorganize its forces.
At the same time, Israel will have to hold further talks with the organization on the release of more hostages, including soldiers held by Hamas and civilians held by other groups, including Islamic Jihad (which was not party to the talks), criminal gangs and families.’

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‘It is better not to imagine what would have been the hostages’ fate or the chances of any agreement if Israel were to eliminate Sinwar or "neutralize" leaders outside of Gaza. This is a question that will need to be addressed by decision-makers when the fighting resumes following the cease-fire.
If Israel does not intend to give up on the objectives of bringing home all the hostages, it and the mediating countries will need a partner in Gaza that can implement an agreement.’

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‘At the same time, Qatar is a strategic partner of the U.S. and among the biggest investors in American companies and institutions. Qatar has come to realize that having connections both with a terrorist organization and the U.S. establishment was forcing it to step out of its comfort zone. It felt it had no choice but to lead efforts to reach a hostage deal.
The Biden administration is not known to have employed threats against Qatar’s ruler, but Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani was listening carefully to the demands heard in Congress for President Joe Biden to impose sanctions on the small and rich country.
The result was that Qatar’s leaders, who hadn’t condemned Hamas’ murderous attack and accused Israel of war crimes during the Gaza war, held working meetings in Doha with the head of the Mossad and other Israeli officials to bring the hostage talks to a conclusion.’

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‘It is not yet clear how Qatar will act after the war and whether it will expel the Hamas leadership. But in light of the disappointment Hamas has felt with the role of Iran and Hezbollah and the sense that it was left to itself, Qatar may well continue to be its main source of support. The price Hamas will have to pay for this war will be set by the Qataris.’

Read the article here.

As lang as there are Israeli hostages in Gaza the top of Hamas and for that reason Hamas has quite a few lifelines.
It will be interesting what price Qatar is going to demand.

For now, Qatar is to Gaza and Israel what Pakistan was to the Taliban and the US.

A regional war cannot be ruled out completely, US forces in Iraq and Syria are being regularly by militias supported by Iran. Biden is very cautious, but as soon as there are US casualties Biden’s prudence might be gone.

Also, the hostage deal will give Hamas the opportunity to regroup and prolong the fighting.
Hamas will survive Netanyahu.