It appears the resumed attacks by Israel HAS resulted in Hamas moving to release more hostages….
The talks are indirect ….
It is unknown if just 5 hosatges is what will stop the Israeli attacks….
Hamas has allegedly agreed to free five living Israeli hostages in exchange for a 50-day ceasefire, as the militant group released a video of a hostage making an appeal for his freedom.
Hamas’s chief, Khalil al-Hayya, reportedly said on Saturday that the militant group expressed willingness to release the five hostages over the Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr, which begins on Sunday, after a proposal it received two days ago from Egypt and Qatar, Reuters has reported.
“Two days ago, we received a proposal from the mediators in Egypt and Qatar. We dealt with it positively and accepted it,” Khalil al-Hayya said in a televised speech.
“We hope that the [Israeli] occupation will not undermine [it],” said Hayya, who leads the Hamas negotiating team in indirect talks aimed at securing a ceasefire in the Hamas-Israel war in Gaza that erupted in October 2023.”
Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said after “a series of consultations pursuant to the proposal that was received from the mediators, Israel conveyed a counter-proposal in full coordination with the US’’.
Netanyahu’s government insists on the release of 10 of the 24 hostages believed to still be alive in Gaza, according to media reports quoting officials in Israel. Of the 251 hostages taken during Hamas’s 2023 attack on Israel, 58 remain in Gaza including 34 who the Israeli military says are dead. Hamas is reportedly open to releasing their bodies.
In exchange, Israel is supposed to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
Khalil added that Hamas’s weapons are a “red line” and it will not disarm as long as Israel’s military occupies Gaza.
Israel is not actively participating in negotiations for a ceasefire deal taking place in Doha between Egypt, Qatar and Hamas, despite increasing efforts to reach an agreement before Eid al-Fitr.
The news came three days after security sources told Reuters that Egypt, one of the mediators in the Gaza ceasefire negotiations, had received positive indications from Israel over a new ceasefire proposal that would include a transitional phase.
Last week Israel resumed its military operation in Gaza, shattering the calm of the ceasefire with Hamas. According to the Palestinian health ministry, 921 people have been killed in the renewed assault.
On Saturday, Hamas’s armed wing released footage showing an Israeli hostage in Gaza calling on the government to secure his release, the second such video shared by the militant group within days…..
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