Hamas demands guarantees from the United States for the release of hostages
In the midst of diplomatic efforts to achieve a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, Hamas has announced its willingness to release all the Israeli hostages it is holding. Senior Hamas official Taher al-Nunu said on Monday that the Palestinian organisation was prepared to accept a ‘serious agreement’ that included an end to the war, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the enclave and the entry of humanitarian aid.
‘We are willing to release all Israeli prisoners in exchange for a complete ceasefire, Israeli withdrawal and a serious exchange of prisoners,’ Al-Nunu, who accused Israel of ‘obstructing’ the agreement and ‘evading its commitments’, thus prolonging the conflict, told AFP.
However, Hamas insists that it will not negotiate its disarmament as part of the agreement. ‘The weapons of Hamas and other factions are not negotiable,’ Al-Nunu emphasised in statements to Asharq.
The meetings that have been held recently in Cairo have not achieved significant progress. However, the Israeli media Ynet reported that a new proposal was presented to Hamas: to free 10 hostages alive in exchange for guarantees from the United States that Israel will initiate negotiations for a second phase of the truce agreement.
This proposal bears similarities to an earlier plan promoted by US envoy Steve Witkoff, which envisaged the release of eleven hostages, in addition to the return of the remains of around ten deceased hostages.
At the same time, the Israeli army continues its operations in Gaza. On Sunday, the Minister of Defence, Israel Katz, announced the capture of the Morag corridor, a strategic area of 12 kilometres between Jan Yunis and Rafah. According to Katz, this action divides the Gaza Strip from east to west and strengthens the Israeli ‘security zone’, which increases the pressure on Hamas to accept the framework for the release of hostages.
‘The main objective is to exert intense pressure on Hamas to return to the framework of hostage release. The more Hamas refuses, the more forcefully the Israel Defense Forces will operate, continuing to attack its operatives and destroy infrastructure. Gaza will shrink, become more isolated, and an increasing number of its residents will be forced to evacuate,’ Katz said.
‘We cannot afford a phased agreement’
Within Israel, voices are growing louder demanding a comprehensive and rapid solution. The families of the hostages have warned that a gradual release of the captives only puts their lives in greater danger and prolongs their suffering.
‘We cannot afford a phased agreement. Every day counts,’ they said in a statement emphasising that ‘partial releases are a dangerous concept’.
‘Government officials continue to talk about growing military pressure to release all the hostages, but in practice the negotiations are stalled and the hostages‘ lives are in danger,’ they add.
The statement concludes by calling for ‘the only reasonable and viable solution: an end to the war and the immediate return of all the hostages, in a single phase’.