From PM’s office: Israel accepted US hostage deal bridging proposal in August, Hamas is thwarting agreement
Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
As attempts to make progress on a deal to free hostages from Hamas remain stuck, the Prime Minister’s Office releases a statement accusing the terror group of “trying to hide the fact that it continues to oppose a deal to release hostages, and thwarts it.”
“While Israel accepted the ‘final bridging proposal’ that the US brought up on August 16, Hamas turned it down, and even murdered 6 of our hostages in cold blood,” the statement continues.
“The world must demand from Hamas that it release our hostages immediately.”
On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said a new formula for a hostage deal would be presented to Israel and Hamas “very soon.”
It is believed that 97 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 33 confirmed dead by the IDF.
Hamas released 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November, and four hostages were released before that. Eight hostages have been rescued by troops, and the bodies of 37 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the Israeli military as they tried to escape their captors.
Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.
