Hamas affirmed this Sunday, January 5, that it was ready to release 34 Israeli hostages held captive in Gaza during the “ first phase » of an agreement with Israel, which for its part emphasizes that it has still not received a list from the Palestinian movement.
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A Hamas official told AFP that the Islamist group had “ agreed to release 34 Israeli prisoners from a list provided by Israel in the first phase of a prisoner exchange deal “. This list, he specified, includes “ all women, the sick, children and the elderly » among the Israeli hostages.
“ Hamas and resistance groups need about a week of calm to communicate with the captors and identify the (hostages) dead or alive », added the official, who requested anonymity. The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office Benyamin Netanyahu indicated for its part in a press release that “ contrary to what has been reported, Hamas has still not provided a list of hostages “.
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No truce possible since November 2023
Indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel resumed this weekend in Qatar, with a view to an agreement on a ceasefire and the release of hostages held captive in Gaza since the attack of the Palestinian movement on Israeli soil on October 7, 2023.
Despite intense diplomatic efforts led under the aegis of Qatar, Egypt and the United States, no truce has been concluded since that of a week at the end of November 2023, which allowed the release of 105 hostages in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. This new round of discussions in Doha comes just over two weeks before the inauguration, on January 20, of the American president-elect Donald Trumpwhich has already put pressure on Hamas.
Among the main sticking points so far have been the permanent nature or not of a ceasefire and the governance of Gaza after the war, Israel categorically opposing Hamas being able to rule the territory again.
While waiting for a possible agreement, violence has escalated for several days in the Palestinian enclave, besieged and devastated by nearly 15 months of war. Gaza emergency services reported at least 23 dead on Sunday in several Israeli strikes across the territory.
According to an AFP count, based on official Israeli figures, the attack of October 7, 2023 perpetrated by Hamas resulted in the deaths of 1,208 people, the majority civilians. That day, 251 people were kidnapped. Among them, 96 remain hostages in Gaza, 34 of whom were declared dead by the army. At least 45,805 people, mainly civilians, have been killed in the military campaign since led by Israel in Gaza, according to the latest report on Sunday January 5 from the Hamas Ministry of Health.
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