In return for the possible release of more hostages, Hamas states its own conditions. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu criticizes this sharply and does not want to get involved in it.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sharply criticized Hamas’ demands for a possible new hostage deal. The conditions set by the Islamist organization would lead to another massacre like the one on October 7, Netanyahu said in Jerusalem after a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
According to Netanyahu, complying with Hamas’ demands would be tantamount to a catastrophe. It is necessary to continue to exert military pressure on Hamas in order to free the hostages. There is no alternative to their military collapse. Israel’s Prime Minister was convinced that the Gaza war could be won in just a few months.
The Islamist Palestinian organization had previously responded to an international mediation proposal. In return for a further release of hostages, she demanded that Israel release more than 1,500 Palestinian prisoners from prison – including 500 prisoners who were sentenced to life or very long prison sentences. Israel has not committed itself to anything, emphasized Netanyahu. There should be a negotiation process through the mediators, but Hamas’ reaction shows that this is not yet underway.
Hamas also continues to insist on a ceasefire. Israel rejects this. From Israel’s perspective, only a temporary ceasefire is conceivable within the framework of an agreement.
Hamas also called for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip and an end to the blockade of the coastal strip. More help should also come to the area. Netanyahu accused the terrorist group of usurping 60 percent of the humanitarian aid currently flowing into the Gaza Strip. The information cannot currently be independently verified.
Hamas wants guarantees from Qatar, the USA, Turkey and Russia for the implementation of the agreement.
According to Israeli military figures, of the approximately 136 hostages still held by Hamas, at most just over a hundred are still alive. However, according to unconfirmed reports, other hostages may have been killed.
Criticism of the government from former hostages
Several former hostages criticized the government’s course. The price of freeing the people still held in the Gaza Strip is high, a woman admitted at a press conference, according to the Times of Israel newspaper. “But if we don’t, it will tarnish Israel forever.” If the hostages don’t come home, everyone will know “that we live in a country that doesn’t worry about our safety, that doesn’t protect its citizens,” said another released woman.
A 16-year-old, whose father is still held in the Gaza Strip, said she didn’t want to lose trust in the government a second time, according to the report. Israel’s leadership had already let many people down on October 7th. The hostages should not also be relegated to coffins. “I live and breathe, but my soul has been murdered. And everyone who is still there is being murdered every day,” said the teenager. Everything is in Netanyahu’s hands, another former hostage said, according to the report. She is very afraid that there will be no more hostages to free if the Prime Minister continues on his path.
Netanyahu also said that the political leadership had ordered the army to prepare for battle in Rafah. The UN has already warned Israel about the move. Fighting in the city in the south of the Gaza Strip could result in countless deaths. To date, no Israeli ground troops have been deployed in Rafah.
Hamas: agreement in three phases
Hamas’ response to an international mediation proposal envisages an agreement in three phases, at the end of which there should be a permanent ceasefire. Each phase should last 45 days.
In the first phase, the terrorist organization would release children, women and elderly people among the hostages it has been holding for four months, according to the report. At the end, corpses should be handed over.
In return, according to Al-Jazeera, Hamas is demanding the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip and an end to the blockade of the coastal strip. In addition, 500 trucks with aid and fuel should be allowed into the Gaza Strip every day.
Blinken sees chances for a deal between Israel and Hamas
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken sees chances for a possible deal between Israel and the Islamist Hamas for a ceasefire and the release of hostages – despite blanket criticism from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. There were some “failures” in Hamas’ reaction to an international mediation proposal, Blinken said after talks with Netanyahu and others in Tel Aviv. “But we also see room in what came back to continue negotiations and see whether we can come to an agreement,” he emphasized. “And we believe we should use it.”
Israel declares numerous abducted hostages dead
Almost four months after the terrorist attack on Israel by the Islamist Hamas, many of the hostages kidnapped into the Gaza Strip have been declared dead, according to the Israeli armed forces.
“We have informed 31 families that their loved ones taken hostage are no longer alive and their deaths have been confirmed,” said military spokesman Daniel Hagari. “We continue to work to create the conditions to bring all hostages home.” Israel previously assumed that more than 130 hostages were still being held dead or alive in the Gaza Strip.
The New York Times newspaper had previously reported, citing a confidential Israeli intelligence document, that at least 30 hostages had died in or since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7th. Some were therefore already killed during the attack on Israeli territory. Their bodies were then taken to the Gaza Strip.
Their deaths were not confirmed at the time, which is why they were counted as hostages. Others died from their injuries in the Gaza Strip or were killed by Hamas fighters. There are also unconfirmed indications of the deaths of at least 20 other hostages.
The New York Times count also includes two Israeli soldiers who were killed in 2014 and whose bodies were taken to the Gaza Strip. According to a report in the Times of Israel newspaper, the hostages now declared dead are 29 people abducted in the terrorist attack on October 7th as well as the two Israeli soldiers killed in 2014.
A total of 253 people were abducted to the Gaza Strip in Hamas’ attack on Israel. Last November, 105 hostages were released. According to the Times of Israel, four hostages were also released before the ceasefire. Israeli soldiers also freed a hostage and recovered eight bodies. Three other hostages were also mistakenly killed by Israeli troops during a military operation in the Gaza Strip.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
