In almost 15 months of war, the parties only reached a one-week truce agreement, at the end of November 2023, in which 105 hostages were exchanged for 240 Palestinian prisoners, in addition to the cessation of fighting.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this Sunday denied reports that Hamas had handed over a list of 34 hostages that it would release in the first phase of the .
“Contrary to what is said, Hamas has not yet sent a list of the names of the hostages,” said a statement from the prime minister’s office cited by the Spanish news agency EFE.
Israel insists that the list of living and dead hostages is necessary to continue negotiations, but Hamas argues that, without truce, it cannot collect this information, as it meets with several groups across the Strip, with whom it cannot maintain communication.
Israeli and Hamas delegations resumed talks in Qatar this weekend after failing again last month, and Mossad chief David Barnea – head of the Israeli negotiating team – is expected to travel to Doha tomorrow (Monday) to continue the dialogue.
Netanyahu met this afternoon with senior ministers from his government, as well as the negotiating team, to discuss progress in the talks, which an Israeli official told Israeli media outlets were “promising.”
Several Hamas officials have also referred in recent days to the positive direction of the negotiations and emphasized that they are at a turning point.
In almost 15 months of war, the parties only reached a one-week truce agreement, at the end of November 2023, in which 105 hostages were exchanged for 240 Palestinian prisoners, in addition to the cessation of fighting.
Of the 251 hostages captured by Hamas on October 7, 96 remain inside the Strip – 34 of them confirmed dead – while 117 were captured alive – only eight in military operations – and 38 bodies were recovered by troops in the enclave.
