From the Liveblog of
Monday, January 13, 2025
Israeli officials detail parameters of hostage deal that will see 33 captives freed in 1st stage
Israeli diplomatic officials say Israel is currently in the “advanced stages of the negotiations” with Hamas for a ceasefire deal that would see the terror group release some of the hostages it is holding.
Briefing military and diplomatic reporters, the officials say there is progress in the talks, which are being coordinated by mediator countries Qatar and Egypt and the outgoing and incoming US administrations, but stress that “the deal is not finalized.”
According to the Israeli officials, the progress in the negotiations comes as a result of the fall of the Iranian-led Axis in the Middle East, with the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria and the defeat of Hezbollah in Lebanon, which led to more pressure on Hamas.
The officials also say that pressure and threats from incoming US President-elect Donald Trump have helped bring Hamas to the table, and they stress that Israel is working with both the Biden and Trump teams, including Biden envoy Brett McGurk and Trump official Steve Witkoff, and the administrations are also coordinating with each other.
The officials say that the first stage of the potential deal would see Hamas releasing 33 “humanitarian” hostages — children, women, female soldiers, the elderly and the sick. The officials say that all of the 33 are officially considered by Israel to be alive, but that Jerusalem has not currently received any confirmation of their status. Israel is also braced for the possibility that some of them are dead.
If the first stage is carried out, then on the 16th day of the deal coming into effect, Israel will begin negotiations on a second stage to free the remaining captives — male soldiers and men of military age — and the bodies of slain hostages, the officials say. They deny a report earlier today saying that the first Israeli hostages will only be released a week into the ceasefire taking effect.
The officials say that Israel is holding onto significant “assets,” including high-profile terrorists and territory in the Gaza Strip, to use as leverage in the second stage of negotiations to “ensure that every hostage is returned home.”
Under the complete ceasefire agreement, Israel will withdraw from most areas of the Gaza Strip and release Palestinian prisoners, including terrorists who carried out deadly attacks. High-profile “murderer” terrorists will not be released to the West Bank under the deal, the officials say, and nobody who took part in the October 7 Hamas onslaught will be freed.
The officials say that IDF troops will remain in a new buffer zone inside Gaza to better defend Israeli border communities.
Israel will not completely withdraw from Gaza until the war’s goals are achieved, among them the return of all the hostages.
During the period between the two stages, Israel will continue to hold the Philadelphi Corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border, and there will be “security arrangements” for Palestinian civilians in southern Gaza seeking to return to the Strip’s north, according to the officials.
