According to media reports on Monday, both Israeli and Hamas officials have said they feel that a hostage deal that would involve a temporary ceasefire in Gaza is close to being reached.
Israeli media reported that Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz told Knesset members in a closed-door meeting that a deal with Hamas was “closer than ever.”
Asharq News, a Saudi news outlet, reported that an unnamed senior Hamas official also said that a deal was “closer than ever.” Al-Akhbar, a Lebanese daily newspaper, reported that there is “unprecedented readiness” on both sides to reach an agreement.
The details of the potential agreement are unclear, but the optimism comes after Hamas reportedly conceded to two major Israeli demands, agreeing that IDF troops will be able to remain in Gaza and handing over a list of hostages it will release.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the potential deal may involve a 60-day ceasefire. During that time, Hamas would release 30 Israeli hostages, including US citizens, and Israel would release Palestinian prisoners and allow more humanitarian aid to enter the Strip.
While there’s no sign Israel is considering permanently ending the genocidal war, the senior Hamas official speaking to Asharq said the Palestinian group’s proposal involved a “gradual end to the war and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces according to an agreed-upon timetable, and guarantees from international mediators.”
Another source familiar with the negotiations told Asharq that Hamas was aware President-elect Donald Trump wanted to see a deal before his inauguration.
Trump recently issued a threat to Hamas, saying there would be “all hell to pay” if the hostages weren’t released by his inauguration. The president-elect repeated the threat on Monday, saying, “As you know, I gave a warning that if these hostages aren’t back home by that date, all hell is going to break out.”
The source speaking to Asharq said, “Hamas and the resistance are ready” for a hostage deal, “but the problem lies with the occupation.”
Previous negotiations to reach a deal were purposely sabotaged by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a fact widely acknowledged by Israeli officials. In November 2023, the two sides did reach a deal, which resulted in the release of over 100 Israeli hostages in exchange for over 200 Palestinians.
Cease fire for Israel to regroup and the US to send more deadly weapons to Israel.
Also, Israel can break the cease fire at any time with no problem, but the other side will get annihilated if they even try to defend themselves.
Kind of like Lebanon.
Exactly Like Lebanon…!
Trump recently issued a threat to Hamas, saying there would be “all hell to pay” if the hostages weren’t released by his inauguration. The president-elect repeated the threat on Monday, saying, “As you know, I gave a warning that if these hostages aren’t back home by that date, all hell is going to break out.”
Seriously Donald? All hell is going to break out? What exactly broke out over the last 14+ months? A fucking picnic? 80,000 tons of bombs is heaven I would assume.
Trump Ranting As Usual…!
Doubtful of Hamas believing this…!
Are there reliable estimates on how many capital-h Hostages remain in Hamassian captivity ?
"…the potential deal may involve a 60-day ceasefire. During that time, Hamas would release 30 Israeli hostages, including US citizens…"
Does that mean there are only 30 left alive & unreleased, or does that "30" represent some fraction of the total (and if so, what's the exact total) ?
Why wouldn't Netanyahu sabotage the deal again?
Enough with the bullshit. Israel will only entertain a deal after they’ve accomplished their goal , which I presume in this particular case is the near complete ethnic cleansing of Gaza, whether by forceful transfer of Palestinians or simply making it uninhabitable. They’ve never had an interest in peace if that same peace would interfere with their goal of establishing Eretz Israel. This is straight out of the Zionist playbook. Sure they’ll make token gestures (like removing illegally squatting Jews in Gaza in 2005) as a sign of their phony goodwill, only to transfer 3x that many into the West Bank within a year. There has never been a genuine peace offer from Israel without a sinister intent attached to it.