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Sunday, December 8, 2024
Recent hostage clips signal Hamas wants comprehensive deal, says Israeli official
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleLazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
The two recent hostage videos released by Hamas — of Matan Zangauker and Edan Alexander — lead Israel to believe that the Palestinian terror group is looking for a comprehensive deal to free all captives, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel.
Both young men are not in the “humanitarian” category, and as such would not have been released in the partial release proposal that was discussed last week.
There are low-level talks about the hostages all the time, says the official, but a senior official delegation will only be sent to Cairo if Israel sees that there is real progress.
Now that there is some positive movement toward a deal, says the official, Qatar is trying to “get back into the spotlight” and be in the position to take credit for a hostage release and ceasefire.
The Times of Israel Community.