Hamas announced Friday that it had accepted a mediator’s proposal to free a dual national who is still alive and four bodies of dual nationals who died in captivity.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cast doubt on this offer and accused Hamas of trying to manipulate the talks in Qatar about the next phase of the Israel-Hamas truce.
The terrorist group in Gaza did not specify immediately when it would release soldier Edan Alexander or the four bodies — or what they expected in return.
Alexander was 19 years old when he was kidnapped from his base near the Gaza border in southern Israel during the Hamas assault on Oct. 7, 2023, which sparked war.
It was unclear which mediators proposed the Hamas release. Steve Witkoff is the hostage envoy for the Trump administration. He has been pushing the United States to propose a truce extension and a limited exchange of prisoners.
Netanyahu’s office responded to the Hamas announcement by saying that Israel “accepted and demonstrated flexibility” in the Witkoff outline, but “Hamas will not and refuses to budge.”
The prime minister’s office stated, “At the same time it continues to use psychological warfare and manipulation — the reports regarding Hamas’ willingness release American hostages is intended to sabotage negotiations.”
The statement said that Netanyahu would meet with his ministerial staff on Saturday night to “receive a detailed report” from the negotiations team and decide the next steps regarding the release of the hostages.
The first phase of the cessation of hostilities ended two weeks ago.
Last week, the White House made a surprising announcement. It said that American officials were engaged in “ongoing discussions and talks” with Hamas representatives, breaking with a longstanding U.S. practice of not engaging directly with militant groups. Netanyahu’s office responded with a short statement.
The Hamas announcement on Friday about the release of the American hostage was not immediately apparent.
In a separate press release, Hamas official Husam BADRAN reaffirmed Hamas’s commitment to implement the ceasefire agreement fully in all phases. He warned that any Israeli deviation would bring negotiations back to square one.
The ceasefire halted the bloodiest and most destructive battles between Israel and Hamas. In the first phase, 25 hostages were released alive, and the remains of eight other hostages were exchanged for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
Israeli forces have moved into buffer zones within Gaza. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who had fled the north of Gaza have returned for the first time since the beginning of the war. And hundreds of trucks of humanitarian aid entered daily until Israel stopped the supplies.
Israel is pressuring Hamas for the release of half the remaining hostages as a condition of extending the first phase and promising to negotiate a lasting ceasefire. Hamas has reportedly taken 24 hostages alive and 35 dead.
Israel cut off Gaza’s supply to its 2 million residents two weeks ago as it tried to get Hamas on board. The militant group said the decision would also affect the remaining hostages.
Hamas is eager to begin negotiations for the second phase of the ceasefire, which will see the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza, as well as the withdrawal of Israeli troops and a lasting peaceful solution.
According to the militant group, since Gaza has been cut off from support, 80% of its population now lacks access to food, aid distribution has stopped, and markets are running out of supplies. 90% of Gaza’s population also does not have access to clean drinking water.
According to the Islamic Trust, which monitors this site, in Jerusalem, 80,000 Muslim worshippers attended Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound during the second week of Ramadan. Israel controls access to the mosque, only allowing men and women older than 55 years old into the occupied territories for prayers.
Yousef Badeen, a Palestinian who left Hebron, in the southern West Bank, at dawn to reach Jerusalem, stated that “the conditions are extremely hard.” “We hope they’ll open it permanently.”
Hamas has accused Israel of intensifying a “religious conflict” against Palestinians by imposing restrictions on the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which it described as “systematically targeting muslim religious practices”.