HAMAS has reiterated its commitment to releasing 34 hostages as part of the ceasefire deal with Israel, according to Hamas officials, reports said.
The Palestinian group, which governs the Gaza Strip, has approved the release of the captives “as part of the first phase of a prisoner exchange deal,” said a Hamas official.
The initial exchange would include all women, children, elderly people, and sick captives being held in Gaza.
However, the agreement would now completely depend on Israel agreeing to a permanent ceasefire and its withdrawal from Gaza, which experts believe is unlikely as it will allow Israeli courts to resume an investigation against Netanyahu in a corruption scandal.
Meanwhile, the Israeli PMO said on Sunday that Hamas was yet to provide a list of captives for potential release.
The reports have emerged as negotiations for a permanent ceasefire are happening in Doha, Qatar.
Donald Trump issued a warning that if the ceasefire does not take place before he assumes office on January 20, he will unleash hell. Subsequently, the Biden-led administration has made several attempts to strike a peace deal in Gaza.
Israel on Sunday continued to bombard Gaza, with its military claiming to have struck more than 100 “terror targets” in the enclave over the weekend.
Furthermore, Gaza’s Health Ministry officials said on Sunday that Israeli air strikes and ground offensives had killed more than 100 Palestinians, including five people at a house in the Nuseirat camp and five at a police station in Khan Younis.
So far, 45800 people have lost their lives in the ongoing Israeli invasion of Gaza in response to Hamas’s October 7, 2023, assault on the country.
