Kfir and Ariel Bibas, have been held hostage by Hamas with their parents in Gaza, since the terrorist attack of October 7, 2023
Israeli coordinator for hostage affairs, Gal Hirsch, met on Tuesday with negotiators from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany and Austria, in the midst of indirect negotiations with Hamas to reach a ceasefire agreement and the release of hostages in Gaza.
The representatives “came to Israel specifically for this purpose,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a brief message.
Hirsch and the negotiators then met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog. one of the senior officials who have most insisted on the need to reach an agreement to free the hundred Israelis who remain kidnapped in Gaza.
“We support, hope and pray and also call on all parties to the negotiations in Qatar to make as much progress as possible and bring an end to this enormous tragedy,” Herzog said at the start of the meeting, according to a statement from his government. desk.
The official assured that the fact that the international representatives are in Israel shows the importance of the hostage issue. Negotiations will continue tomorrow Wednesday and international negotiators will also meet with relatives of those kidnapped.
After months of unsuccessful negotiations, Israel sent Mossad chief David Barnea, who heads the negotiating team, to Doha on Monday.
For its part, Hamas has already provided a list of the names of 34 kidnapped people, out of the 96 still captive, who would be released in the first phase of the agreement, including two children, ten women and eleven elderly people, but without specifying whether they are alive or dead.
The terrorist group requested a week of calm, without Israeli planes flying over Gaza, to communicate with the kidnappers and confirm where and in what condition these hostages are, since some are in the hands of other armed groups in the Gaza Strip, such as Islamic Jihad.
Agencies contributed to this Aurora article.