Israel still hasn’t received list of living hostages from Hamas, official tells ToI: ‘We are waiting’

Israel still has not received a list of living hostages from Hamas, an Israeli official with knowledge of the details tells The Times of Israel. “We are waiting.”

Still, there is progress in hostage talks in Doha, says the official. “But it’s slow progress. We would want to see it move quicker, the entire process, but there is absolutely progress.”

The official says there is a noticeable gap between the positions of the Hamas leadership abroad and Gaza-based officials. “The leadership abroad would like to finish this,” says the official.

“We understand that [Gaza-based senior official] Mohammed Sinwar is no less of an extremist and zealot than [slain Hamas leader] Yahya Sinwar,” the official continues, “and this is definitely causing delays.”

Another factor slowing down talks is the time it takes for Hamas officials in Doha to communicate with those in Gaza, says the official.

The official also alleges that Qatar, despite returning to its mediating role, is also getting in the way at times: “Qatar doesn’t stop playing games and trying to carry out psychological warfare on Israeli society with all kinds of reports, half-truths, all kinds of things that they try to launch, experimental balloons, all kinds of things that don’t contribute to the negotiations.”

The official explains that Israel is willing to use Qatar as a mediator because it has excellent access to Hamas leaders.

The official insists that Israel will not leave the Philadelphi Corridor as part of any partial deal or in the first phase of a deal.

“If we reach an end to the war, then maybe it will be possible,” says the official. “We’ll see what arrangements we reach, but I also find it hard to believe that we will withdraw.”

“We are ready to thin out our forces and redeploy our forces on the ground,” the official concedes.