Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said for its part that “contrary to what has been reported, Hamas still has not provided a list of hostages.”
A Hamas official told AFP on Sunday that the Palestinian Islamist movement is ready to release 34 Israeli hostages being held captive in the Gaza Strip in the “first phase” of a deal with Israel.
Hamas “has agreed to release 34 Israeli prisoners from a list provided by Israel in the first phase of a prisoner exchange deal,” the official said, clarifying that the list included “all women, sick, children and elderly Israelis” among of the hostages.
“Hamas and resistance groups need almost a week of calm to contact the kidnappers and locate the (hostages) dead or alive,” he added.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that “contrary to what has been reported, Hamas has still not provided a list of hostages.”
Indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel resumed this weekend in Qatar with the aim of reaching an agreement on a ceasefire and the release of hostages held in Gaza after the Palestinian Islamist movement’s attack on Israeli soil on October 7, 2023.
Despite intense diplomatic efforts under the auspices of Qatar, Egypt and the United States, no truce has been agreed after the week-long one in late November 2023.
This truce made possible the release of 105 hostages in exchange for the release of 240 Palestinian prisoners in Israel. During the October 7 attack, in which more than 1,200 people died on the Israeli side, most of them civilians, according to a count based on official figures, 251 people were kidnapped. A total of 96 hostages remain in Gaza, 34 of whom are confirmed dead according to the military.
Source :Skai
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