Gaza war
Draft for new hostage deal – report gives details
Israelis demand the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip at a demonstration in Tel Aviv. photo
© Ilia Yefimovich/dpa
More than 100 people are still in the hands of the militant Islamist Hamas. A draft for the release of the hostages has been negotiated in Paris.
A US media report gives details of a possible new agreement between Israel and the militant Islamist group Hamas on an exchange of hostages and prisoners.
A draft negotiated in Paris stipulates that all civilians kidnapped from Israel will initially be released during a six-week ceasefire, the Washington Post reported. Three Palestinian prisoners are to be released from Israeli prisons in exchange for a hostage held in the Gaza Strip, it said. According to the report, the modalities are still unclear as to which prisoners will be released and who can determine this. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had previously announced that the deal would not free “thousands of terrorists.”
Pauses in fighting, troop movements, humanitarian aid
According to the report, after the first six weeks, further breaks in fighting are planned to release kidnapped Israeli soldiers and to repatriate the bodies of hostages.
As part of the agreement, Israeli troops could also be moved within the Gaza Strip – away from densely populated residential areas. Netanyahu reiterated on Tuesday that Israel’s troops would not be withdrawn from the Gaza Strip.
According to the report, part of the agreement also includes a significant increase in humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory.
No timetable yet
However, it could still take a while before the deal negotiated by the USA, Qatar and Egypt actually comes to fruition, wrote the Washington Post, citing officials familiar with the negotiations.
Hamas abducted more than 250 hostages to the Gaza Strip in its terrorist attack on Israel on October 7th. It is estimated that more than 130 people are still in their power. Israel believes that 27 of them are no longer alive. Hamas has so far cited a permanent ceasefire as a prerequisite for an exchange to take place.