Israel has reduced the number of hostages that it wants Hamas to free during the first phase of a new truce in Gaza, according to three Israeli officials, offering a hint of hope for ceasefire negotiations that could restart as soon as Tuesday.
For months, Israel had demanded that Hamas release at least 40 hostages — women, older people and those who are seriously ill — in order to secure a new truce.Now the Israeli govt is prepared to settle for only 33, according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The change was prompted partly by the fact that Israel now believes that some of the 40 have died in captivity, according to one of the officials.
The shift has raised expectations that Hamas and Israel might be edging closer to sealing their first truce since a weeklong ceasefire in Nov, when Hamas released 105 captives in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners. A senior Hamas official, Izzat al-Rishq, said Monday that Hamas was studying a new Israeli proposal, but did not say what the proposal was.
Hamas and its allies captured roughly 240 Israelis and foreigners in their attack on Oct 7. Over 130 hostages are believed to still be held in Gaza, but some are thought to have died. Negotiations over a new pause, mediated by Egypt and Qatar, have stalled for months over disagreements about the number of hostages and prisoners who should be exchanged.
Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, said at the World Economic Forum in Riyadh, on Monday that Israel had made an “extraordinarily generous” offer and that Hamas alone stood in the way of a deal.