Over the weekend, negotiations for a ceasefire resumed in Qatar Israel And Hamaswhich had been blocked for months now. The Palestinian jihadist group has supplied some media outlets, including BBC And Reutersthe list of 34 hostages that he would be willing to free in an initial phase. However, upon subsequent checking it was discovered that it was a list from last July which never became official. The Israeli government released a statement on Sunday Benjamin Netanyahu, said he had not received any list, while last Saturday Hamas had published the video of Liri Albag a female soldier kidnapped on October 7, 2023. In the attacks on October 7, 2023, Hamas caused the deaths of 1,200 people and took 251 individuals hostage. Of these, 154 were released or liberated by the Israeli army. 97 hostages remain, but it is unclear how many are still alive. The list of 34 people that Hamas has pledged to release includes 10 women, 11 men aged between 50 and 85, some considered “sick” and several children. The latter had previously been declared dead by Hamas as a result of Israeli attacks.
Hamas insists on having a role in the future of the Gaza Strip
Hamas has officially requested, as conditions for the negotiations, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the establishment of a permanent ceasefire, requests which Israel has categorically rejected. The prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu he has stated several times that the objective is to end the war only with the complete elimination of Hamas. At the moment, it is unclear whether the negotiations have made any concrete progress. In addition to Qatar, Egypt and the United States are also participating in the mediation.
What Hamas does not say is that in parallel with official requests it insists that any agreement on the release of Israeli hostages include a clause guaranteeing a role for the organization in the future governance of Gaza after the war, as reported by Kan News citing an Egyptian source involved in the negotiations. The same source underlined “that it would be difficult for Hamas to accept an agreement that does not provide a clear path to ending the conflict and guaranteeing a role for the organization in the management of post-conflict Gaza”. Furthermore, Egypt believes that to reach an agreement “Israel must be willing to end the war.”
The source also added that the threats made to Hamas by the president-elect of the United States, Donald Trumphad minimal impact. This is because the organization considers “that it does not have much left to lose after the serious damage already inflicted by Israel.” Negotiations to reach an agreement have accelerated again in recent weeks, while the president of the United States, Joe Bidenis nearing the end of his term.
However, it is highly unlikely that Israel will accept any deal involving Hamas in the future governance of Gaza, as one of the main objectives of the war is the complete elimination of the organization’s governing capacity. This morning, a forum representing the majority of hostages still held in Gaza urged the Prime Minister’s government Benjamin Netanyahu “to negotiate a comprehensive agreement to secure the release of all prisoners.” The forum criticized Jerusalem’s current approach of releasing only about a third of hostages during a temporary ceasefire. THE’Hostages Forum held a press conference in Tel Aviv, which was attended by four family members of the hostages held in Gaza. The event was organized following reports that Hamas had approved a list of 34 prisoners ready for release.
