PM instructs negotiators to prepare for talks on Witkoff proposal, under which 11 living hostages would be freed immediately

After meeting with his top aides, senior ministers, and security chiefs, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructs the hostage negotiating team to prepare for the next round of talks based on a proposal from US special envoy Steve Witkoff.

According to the Prime Minister’s Office, the proposal would see 11 living hostages and half the slain captives released “immediately.” It is not immediately clear if this is the same proposal as presented by Witkoff in Doha on Wednesday, or an amended version. The Israeli negotiating team returned from Doha on Friday.

The “Witkoff proposal,” which the US envoy has not fully detailed, was said by Israel to call for half the living hostages to be released at the start of an extended ceasefire that would last until the end of the Passover holiday in mid-April, with the possibility of the rest of the hostages being released at the end of the period.

There are believed to be 24 living hostages still held in Gaza, along with 35 hostages confirmed by Israel to be dead.

In its statement, the Prime Minister’s Office says Netanyahu tonight held discussions with ministers, security chiefs and the Israeli negotiating team on the hostage issue. At its conclusion, he “instructed the negotiating team to prepare for the continuation of talks, in accordance with the mediators’ response to Witkoff’s proposal for the immediate release of 11 living hostages and half of those who have fallen.”