Two children – the Bibas brothers -, ten women, eleven elderly people and eleven other men under the age of 50 appear on the list given by the Islamic terrorist group Hamas to Israel with the names of the 34 hostages it would initially release time. phase of a ceasefire agreement, leaked to certain media.
“This is the list provided by Hamas,” sources close to the negotiations confirmed, although it is not clear if all are alive.
Hamas has not officially confirmed the veracity of the list; and Benjamin Netanyahu’s government denied last night having received any list; But the Islamic terrorist group leaked the full document to Saudi newspaper Al Sharq, which includes all 34 names and their ages.
“The fear is that Hamas will use the possible agreement to hand over the bodies of dead hostages. “Israel wants to avoid this and give priority to living captives in a first phase,” the same sources indicated.
According to Saudi media, Hamas will need a week to confirm the condition and whereabouts of these hostages; since some are in the hands of other terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip, such as Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
“The list of abductees published in the media was not transferred to Israel by Hamas, but was initially transferred from Israel to intermediaries as early as July 2024,” the Prime Minister’s Office said on Monday, clarifying that he was still waiting for confirmation from Hamas. the hostage situation.
For their part, the hostages’ families said in a joint statement that they were “deeply shocked and distressed by the list published this morning.”
“The time has come to reach a comprehensive agreement allowing the return of all the hostages: more than half are still alive and need to be rehabilitated, while those killed must be repatriated for burial. We have no more time to waste. “A ceasefire agreement for the hostages must be reached now!” »
On the list is the entire Israeli-Argentinian Bibas family, Shiri Silberman Bibas – of Argentinian origin -, her husband Yarden Bibas, and their children, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, who served 5 years and 1 in captivity. Kfir, who was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz at the age of nine months, is expected to turn two on January 18.
In November 2023, Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed that Shiri and the two children were killed in an Israeli attack, but the Israel Defense Forces were unable to confirm this claim, although they were the the only children not to be released during the truce. reached that month, which raised doubts.
Delegations from Israel and the Hamas terror group resumed negotiations in Qatar this weekend, following their further failure last month, and Mossad chief David Barnea – who heads the Israeli negotiating team – is due to visit today in Doha to continue the dialogue. .
“His trip is currently awaiting the latest developments, perhaps he will travel tomorrow,” the source said.
Netanyahu met with his government’s top ministers, as well as the negotiating team, last night to discuss progress in the talks, which an Israeli official told Hebrew media was “promising.”
Several Hamas officials have also spoken in recent days of the right direction of the talks and stressed that they are at a “decisive” moment.
In nearly fifteen months of war, the parties have only concluded a one-week truce agreement, at the end of November 2023, during which 105 hostages were exchanged for 240 Palestinian prisoners.
Of the 251 hostages kidnapped on October 7 by the terrorist group Hamas, 96 remain inside the Gaza Strip – including 34 confirmed dead -; while 117 survived – only 8 during military operations – and 38 bodies were rescued by troops in the enclave.
Agencies contributed to this Aurora article
