Gaza Strip
How many hostages are still alive? Hamas calls for ceasefire to find kidnapped Israelis
Israelis fear for their relatives: Hamas is said to be holding more than 100 hostages in the Gaza Strip
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Concerns about Hamas hostages are growing in the Gaza war. Relatives fear that more Israeli hostages could be dead in the contested coastal area than previously thought.
The abductees are in different places in the embattled Gaza Strip and in the hands of different groups. Some of them were also lying “under the rubble” along with killed Palestinians, it was said. “We are negotiating to get heavy equipment for this purpose,” the Hamas official said.
Hamas and Israel negotiate ceasefire and hostages
Naim was responding to questions from media representatives about whether Hamas had rejected the US’s latest compromise proposal because it could not release 40 hostages in the first phase of a three-stage agreement. According to media reports, the first phase envisaged the release of women, soldiers, men over 50 years of age and men under 50 years of age with serious medical problems. However, in recent negotiations, Hamas stated that it did not have 40 living hostages from these categories. This raised fears that significantly more hostages could be dead than was known. Israel had previously assumed that just under 100 of the approximately 130 hostages remaining in the embattled Gaza Strip were still alive.
According to media reports, the US compromise proposal was presented on Sunday evening by CIA Director William Burns during negotiations in the Egyptian capital Cairo. The proposal called for Hamas to release 40 of the hostages held during a six-week ceasefire in exchange for 900 Palestinian prisoners – including 100 who were sentenced to life in prison for murdering Israelis. Israel should in turn allow up to 150,000 displaced Palestinians to return to the north of the coastal area, it said.
Gaza Strip
Behind a dune, at the border crossing, begins a tunnel large enough for cars
Hamas insists on a permanent ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the contested coastal area. The Israeli government is keeping open the possibility of continuing fighting after a ceasefire. Since Israel and Hamas do not speak to each other directly, the USA, Qatar and Egypt act as mediators.