Israel in talks to finish hostage deal as Hamas names conditions for release
Peter Cordi
3–4 minutes
November 14, 2023 01:40 PM
Israel and Hamas are on the brink of securing a hostage deal to bring home the captives kidnapped in the Oct. 7 terrorist attack on southern Israel, according to a report Monday.
The deal is just “days away,” according to the Washington Post, citing an anonymous high-ranking Israeli official. Qatar has been working with both sides to negotiate for the release of hostages.
Hamas has laid out two stipulations for a deal to release its hostages, including a prisoner swap and a short ceasefire.
The Palestinian terrorist organization allegedly told Qatari mediators that it was prepared to free up to 70 women and children held in Gaza, but blamed Israel for delaying such an agreement.
"Last week, there was an effort from the Qatari brothers to release the enemy captives … in return for the release of 200 Palestinian children and 75 women detained by the enemy," said Abu Obaida, a spokesman for the armed wing of Hamas, in an audio recording posted to the group’s Telegram channel.
Obaida claimed the reason why a deal has yet to be struck to free both Palestinian prisoners in Israel as well as Israeli hostages in Gaza is that Israel is “procrastinating.”
He additionally explained Hamas’s parameters for a ceasefire to “allow aid and humanitarian relief everywhere in the Gaza Strip.”
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/foreign/israel-close-hostage-deal-hamas-names-conditions-release