Hostage families group demands PM send negotiators after Hamas says it’s open to deal

Hostage families release a statement insisting that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately dispatch negotiators for talks on ending the war and freeing the remaining hostages, after Hamas released a statement saying it is open to any ceasefire proposal.

“Tonight’s Hamas statement once again highlights the severe shortsightedness of the Israeli government. Three weeks have already passed, and Israel has yet to respond to Hamas’s updated reply to the mediators,” a statement from the Hostage and Missing Families Forum reads.

Earlier, Hamas published a statement saying it is open “to any ideas or proposals that achieve a permanent ceasefire, a full withdrawal of the occupation forces from the Gaza Strip, the unconditional entry of aid, and a genuine prisoner exchange through serious negotiations mediated by third parties.”

The terror group said last month that it was willing to agree to a proposal for a 60-day truce freeing around half of the hostages under terms previously accepted by Israel, but Jerusalem has yet to respond, instead pushing ahead with plans for a wide-scale military offensive in Gaza City.

The Forum accuses Netanyahu of refusing the deal for political reasons, perpetuating “an endless war whose purpose is to preserve the coalition.”

“We demand that the Israeli government accept the agreement currently on the table—to which Hamas has already responded positively—and immediately begin negotiations for a comprehensive deal to return everyone, down to the last hostage,” the statement reads.