Hamas says 33 hostages to be freed in 1st phase of a deal may not all be alive
Terror group said to tell mediators it doesn’t have 33 living people who meet ‘humanitarian’ criteria of initial phase — after Israel agreed to lower previous demand of 40 people
Hamas has said some of the 33 hostages it would release under the first phase of a prospective hostage deal with Israel would not necessarily be alive.
In an announcement detailing the clauses to which it had agreed Monday in the latest proposal for a deal, the terror group said, “During the first phase, Hamas releases 33 Israeli detainees (alive or corpses).”
The New York Times reported Tuesday that the terror group had explicitly told mediators that some of the 33 hostages it would release under the first phase of the prospective deal would not be alive. The Times said it was not clear whether the terror group had informed interlocutors how many of the 33 would be alive.
A failure to release 33 living hostages would appear to conflict with Israeli demands.
Israel had initially demanded that 40 living hostages of the 132 still in Gaza be released in the first phase of the three-phase plan — all of them in the so-called “humanitarian” category: women, children, elderly and sick people.
According to multiple reports, it then agreed to lower that number to 33 after Hamas said it did not hold enough living individuals in the category.
However, the claim that even the 33 under discussion are not all alive appears to be a new walk-back by the terror group.
On Monday, Hamas said it had accepted Arab mediators’ latest offer for a three-phase deal for a ceasefire and hostages-for-prisoners swap. However, Israel said the terms of the deal had been altered and “softened” from those it approved several days ago, and was unacceptable in its latest form.
Hamas officials claimed Monday evening that the deal would yield an end to the war, whereas Israel has said repeatedly that it will not accept an agreement that involves ending the war and that it fully intends to resume its campaign to destroy Hamas once any deal has been carried out.
The United States, which alongside Qatar and Egypt has played a mediation role in the talks, said it was studying the Hamas response and would discuss it with Middle East allies.
The specifics set out by Hamas on Monday differ to some extent from the reported terms of what the US hailed a week ago as an “extremely generous” Israeli offer.
Based on details announced so far by Hamas officials and an official briefed on the talks, the deal that the terrorist group said it had agreed to includes:
- A first 42-day phase, in which Hamas releases 33 hostages in exchange for Israel’s release of Palestinian security prisoners and a partial Israeli withdrawal from Gaza
- A second 42-day phase, in which Hamas releases all remaining living hostages in exchange for further prisoner releases and an agreement to put in place a “sustainable calm” in Gaza
- A third phase in which all remaining hostage bodies are handed over to Israel, and Gaza’s reconstruction begins, alongside an end to the complete blockade of the Strip
Israel has consistently said it will not accept a deal that entails a permanent ceasefire, and that it will resume its military campaign after any truce-for-hostages deal, in order to complete its two declared war goals: freeing the hostages and destroying Hamas’s military and governance capabilities.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also said that Israel will ensure there can be no future terrorist threat to Israel from Gaza.
Netanyahu’s office said late Monday that the Hamas offer was far from meeting Israel’s essential demands, but that Jerusalem would send negotiators to continue talks with the US, Egyptian, and Qatari mediators.
Reuters contributed to this report.
