The Islamist organization Hamas is carrying out a count of living Israeli hostages in Gazaas Palestinian sources revealed to EFE, while the population of the enclave assures thatIsraeli surveillance drones stopped flying over its skies this Saturday.
The source said that senior Hamas officials had contacted various factions in the Gaza Strip, to find out the latest developments regarding the living prisoners, in preparation for the possibility of reaching an exchange agreement with Palestinian prisoners.
He noted that the focus was on living Israeli prisoners, while efforts were also being made to locate the bodies of some prisoners who died in Israeli raids.
The source states that “there is a great consensus within Hamas, as well as within the factions, on the need to reach a ceasefire, on bases similar to that achieved in Lebanon”.
This source assures that Hamas negotiators fear that few hostages remain alive.
Israeli surveillance drones, imposing a constant hum over the Gazan skiesthey stopped ringing this Saturday for the first time in months, according to what Palestinian sources in different parts of the enclave told EFE.
“For the first time in 14 months (barring the one-week truce in November last year), there is not a single surveillance drone over the skies over Gaza, a sign that perhaps Hamas is taking a count of the live and dead hostages. “said one of these sources.
This same situation occurred during the truce between Israel and Hamas in November of last year. So, The Israeli Army promised not to fly over the enclave with drones and airplanes for six hours a day while the truce was in effect to allow Hamas to locate hostages held by other armed groups, such as Islamic Jihad, which also supported the agreement.
Of the 251 hostages taken by Palestinian militants on October 7, 2023, 96 remain in the enclave and so far Israeli authorities estimate that 34 are dead. During last year’s truce, 105 captives were freed (mostly women, the elderly and children) in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.
Negotiations in Cairo
The hostage count coincides with the new round of negotiations in Cairo between Hamas and Israel for the ceasefire in Gaza, in which both parties have been positive about the possibility of reaching an agreement.
This Friday, Hamas expressed “hope of reaching an agreement” to end the war.
Hamas political bureau member Basem Naim said in a statement that group is “prepared to show flexibility” in the negotiations regarding the implementation of the agreement, including “the timing of the withdrawal of Israeli troops from key points in the Gaza Strip”, one of the usual elements of clash between the parties.
An Israeli delegation will visit Cairo “in the coming days” to address the possible truce agreement, an Egyptian security source informed EFE who predicted his arrival “at the beginning of next week.”
In the midst of this new effort in negotiations, I alson Qatar, which had withdrawn its mediation accusing the parties of lacking “seriousness”, discreetly resumed its role in conversations.
