Hostage families told optimistic reports on progress in talks are not correct

Families of the hostages have been told that optimistic reports of serious progress in negotiations are not correct.

“In recent hours reports in the Arab press regarding negotiations to bring the hostages home, these reports, that have also been published in Israel, are not correct,” says a statement sent to the families by the government coordinator for the hostage talks.

It comes after the Qatari-owned, London-based al-Araby al-Jadeed news outlet reported that Hamas had sent negotiators a list of hostages it was willing to release and the names of Palestinian security prisoners it wanted in return.

“We continue to take all measures to secure the return of the hostages and take great care to keep this information secured. We urge you to continue to only rely on information coming from authorized sources,” the statement says.