Hamas said it was ready to release 34 Israeli hostages held captive in Gaza, we learned this Sunday, January 5.
Towards a release of hostages? Hamas affirmed this Sunday that it was ready to release 34 Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip during the “first phase” of an agreement with Israel, which for its part emphasized that it had still not received a list from of the Palestinian movement.
A Hamas official told AFP that the Islamist group had “agreed to release 34 Israeli prisoners from a list provided by Israel in the first phase of a prisoner exchange deal.”
This list, he specified, includes “all women, the sick, children and the elderly” among the Israeli hostages.
“Hamas and the resistance groups need about a week of calm to communicate with the kidnappers and identify the (hostages) dead or alive,” added the official, who requested anonymity.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated 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 a view to an agreement on a ceasefire and the release of hostages held captive in Gaza since the attack of the Palestinian movement on Israeli soil on October 7, 2023.
Belgium
