The release of Edan Alexander will immediately lead into talks for a wider arrangement aimed at ending the war in Gaza, CNN quotes a source familiar with the indirect talks between the US and Hamas saying.
“We’re going to go into immediate peace deal negotiations,” the source says.
US officials, including President Donald Trump, have portrayed the release of Alexander as a first step toward ending the war and releasing all hostages.
Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter, a former head of the Shin Bet seen as close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said earlier in the day that Israel would resist US pressure to end the war in Gaza without meeting its aims.
“We’re not the 51st star on the [US] flag,” Dichter told the Kan public broadcaster. “The war’s goals haven’t changed.”
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