Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz told his American counterpart, Lloyd Austin, on Wednesday that there was currently “a chance” of an agreement for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023. .
“There is currently a chance for a new deal,” Mr. Katz told Mr. Austin in a phone call, according to a statement from his office. “We hope for the release of all hostages, including American citizens,” he added.
For more than a year, the United States, Egypt and Qatar have been trying to negotiate a ceasefire and hostage release agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.
On Monday, a source close to Hamas told AFP that the movement had “informed the Egyptian Minister of Intelligence of its efforts to collect information” on the living Israeli hostages. This source specified that Hamas had prepared a list of the names of the living hostages.
“If Israel accepts the Egyptian proposal, I believe the exchange agreement will be ready to be implemented,” the source added.
Another promising sign came from Qatar, which said on Saturday that the November election of US President Donald Trump, who will take office in January, had created new “momentum” for negotiations.
At the same time, a source close to the Hamas delegation said that Turkey, along with Egypt and Qatar, had “made commendable efforts to end the war” and that a new round of negotiations could soon to start.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also gave a sign of hope by telling the families of hostages that Israel's military successes against Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas would facilitate negotiations for their release.
The war in the Gaza Strip was triggered by the unprecedented attack by Hamas in Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the death of 1,208 people on the Israeli side, the majority civilians, according to an AFP count carried out based on official data and including hostages who died or were killed in captivity in the Gaza Strip.
That day, 251 people were kidnapped on Israeli soil. A total of 96 hostages remain in Gaza, 34 of whom were declared dead by the army.
Among the hostages are seven Israeli-American citizens, three of whom are believed to be alive, according to the Hostage Forum.
The Israeli offensive has left at least 44,805 dead in the Gaza Strip, the majority civilians, according to data from the Hamas Ministry of Health for Gaza, deemed reliable by the UN.
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