Quietly ….The two sides ARE negotiating ….
This after there IS a Hezbollah cease-fire in effect
And….
Incoming US President Trump want’s a stop in hostilities ‘or else?’
Mediated negotiations between Israel and Palestinian terror group Hamas to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip that would include the release of Israeli hostages have advanced to the point where the sides are discussing lists of those who would be released, according to a Monday report.
The Qatari-owned, London-based al-Araby al-Jadeed news outlet cited a source familiar with the developments as saying a Hamas delegation was in Cairo on Sunday and delivered a list of elderly or medically unwell hostages who would be released during the initial stages of a proposed truce. In addition, the delegation reportedly gave the names of four hostages with US citizenship who did not fall into the previous category.
There are seven hostages with dual US-Israeli citizenship; four of them have been declared dead by Israel, and it’s therefore unclear how four could be on the reported list.
Hamas also gave the Egyptians a list of Palestinian security prisoners held in Israel that it wants released in exchange for hostages. The list is being reviewed by Israel, the report said, and an Israeli negotiating delegation was set to arrive in Cairo later Monday.
Discussions about who would be set free are considered an advanced stage of negotiations, with earlier stages relating to halting the fighting and maintaining a truce….
For more than a year, several waves of negotiations have stalled and failed to reach a sequel to an agreement reached in late November 2023, in which 105 hostages were released in a weeklong truce. Israel believes that 96 of the 251 hostages kidnapped on October 7 are still in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the IDF. Over the past 14 months, IDF troops have rescued eight hostages and recovered the bodies of 38.
However, recent regional developments, along with US President-elect Donald Trump’s threat that there will be “hell to pay” if the hostages are not released by the time he enters office on January 20, appear to have injected new vigor into talks, with reports saying officials are optimistic a deal can be reached….
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