Mediators said seeking pressure on Israel to advance Gaza talks before bodies returned

Qatari news channel Al-Arabi reports that mediators are asking the US to pressure Israel to drop the issue of seeking the return of hostages’ bodies and move on to the next stage of negotiations aimed at ending fighting in Gaza.

Cairo-based correspondent Tamer Abu Rob reports, without sources, that mediators have promised that efforts to locate hostages are already underway by Egyptian teams, and that Turkish assistance will soon begin operating in Gaza for the same purpose.

According to the report, mediators told the United States that Hamas is sharing all the information it has on the matter.

The report seems to dovetail with comments from senior advisers to US President Donald Trump on Wednesday who indicated that Hamas was doing what it could, while noting that Turkey could soon enter the picture. Egypt’s involvement in finding the bodies was previously reported.

“The sentiment in Israel is always [that Hamas] can do more. What we basically say to the Israeli side… is, ‘Give us whatever intelligence you’re hearing or seeing,” one Trump adviser said. “If you think that there’s something [the mediators or Hamas] could be doing or should be doing that you don’t think they’re doing, then pass it over and we’ll convey it.”

Israel has indicated that it will not engage in talks expected to focus on Gaza’s reconstruction and administration until the first stage of the deal is complete with the return of all hostages dead and alive.