Israel and Hamas exchange lists of names for release as talks advance – report
Mediated negotiations between Israel and Palestinian terror group Hamas to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip that would include the release of Israeli hostages have advanced to the point where the sides are discussing lists of those who would be released, according to a Monday report.
The Qatari-owned, London-based al-Araby al-Jadeed news outlet cited a source familiar with the developments as saying a Hamas delegation had been in Cairo the day before and delivered a list of elderly or medically unwell hostages who would be released during the initial stages of a proposed truce. In addition, they gave the names of four hostages with US citizenship who did not fall into the previous category.
There are seven hostages with dual US-Israeli citizenship; four of them have been declared dead by Israel and it’s therefore unclear how four could be on the reported list.
Hamas also gave the Egyptians a list of Palestinian security prisoners held in Israel that it wants released in exchange for hostages. The list is being reviewed by Israel, the report said, and an Israeli negotiating delegation is set to arrive in Cairo later Monday.
Discussions about who would be set free are considered an advanced stage of negotiations, with earlier stages relating to halting the fighting and maintaining a truce.
For more than a year, several waves of negotiations have stalled and failed to reach a sequel to an agreement reached in late November 2023, in which 105 hostages were released in a weeklong truce. Israel believes that 96 of the 251 hostages kidnapped on October 7 are still in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the IDF. Over the past 14 months, IDF troops have rescued eight hostages and recovered the bodies of 38.
However, recent regional developments, along with US President-elect Donald Trump’s threat that there will be “hell to pay” if the hostages are not released by the time he enters office on January 20, appear to have injected new vigor into talks, with reports saying officials are optimistic a deal can be reached.
According to al-Araby al-Jadeed’s source, the US, Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey are all helping with mediation.
The current proposal, suggested by Egypt, would reportedly include a phased Israeli withdrawal from Gaza during the course of a ceasefire that will last two months. During that time the sides will work to reach a more permanent end to the fighting.
Hamas has agreed to the 60-day transitional period, which will allow additional food, medicine, and fuels to be brought into Gaza.
A key sticking point in the past was Hamas’s refusal to budge from its demand for a permanent end to the war and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza in exchange for releasing the remaining hostages, while Israel has insisted on only temporary ceasefires and initially maintaining a troop presence in Gaza.
The report said that among Egyptian officials there is optimism that a deal can be reached before Trump’s January 20 deadline.
Among other things discussed with Hamas in Cairo was the recently proposed Community Support Committee — as agreed between the terror group and the rival Fatah faction, which controls the Palestinian Authority — to administer the Strip after the war ends.
The report said, without citing sources, that the Egyptian General Intelligence Service is pressing Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to give his required approval to set up the committee, as Hamas has already given its full agreement.
The head of Egyptian intelligence has in recent days been in contact with PA and Fatah officials, among them the head of PA intelligence, Majed Faraj, and the secretary general of Fatah’s Central Committee, Jibril Rajoub, to persuade them to get Abbas to agree to the plan enabling a gathering of Palestinian factions in Cairo to formally sign on to setting up the committee.
The report said that Cairo officials see the committee as a key element of negotiations for an end to the war and the future administration of Gaza.
The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas led a devastating cross-border attack on Israel, killing 1,200 people and abducting the hostages to Gaza.
On Saturday, Qatar’s prime minister said there was renewed “momentum” for a ceasefire and hostage release deal following Trump’s election.
On Sunday, sources within various Palestinian terror groups in Gaza said Hamas had told them to compile information on the hostages they hold in preparation for a potential ceasefire and hostage deal with Israel.
Source » timesofisrael.com
