Hamas calls for talks on next phase of ceasefire after hostage-prisoner exchange

KHAN YOUNIS: Hamas mentioned Thursday it was prepared to barter the the next phase of the ceasefire within the Gaza Strip, after a swap through which it handed over the stays of 4 hostages in exchange for the discharge of greater than 600 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
It was the ultimate such exchange the 2 sides agreed to as half of a truce that is set to finish this weekend. Negotiations over a second phase, through which Hamas would launch dozens of remaining hostages in exchange for extra prisoners and a long-lasting ceasefire, haven’t but begun.
An Israeli group representing households of hostages held by Hamas mentioned the stays of all 4 hostages returned early Thursday have been recognized. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum recognized them as Ohad Yahalomi, Itzhak Elgarat, Shlomo Mantzur and Tsachi Idan.
Mantzur, 85, was killed within the October 7, 2023, assault and his physique was taken into Gaza. The different three have been kidnapped alive and the circumstances surrounding their deaths weren’t identified.
Hamas mentioned in a press release that the “only way” for Israel to safe the discharge of the remaining hostages was by way of negotiations and adhering to the settlement. It warned that any try to drag again from the truce “will only lead to more suffering” for the captives and their households.
Hamas confirmed that over 600 prisoners had been launched in a single day. Most have been detainees returned to Gaza, the place that they had been rounded up after the October 7, 2023 assault that triggered the struggle and held with out cost on safety suspicions.
A joyful return for launched prisoners Some of the launched prisoners fell to their knees in gratitude after disembarking from buses within the southern Gaza metropolis of Khan Younis. In the West Bank city of Beitunia, dozens of prisoners have been welcomed by crowds of family members and well-wishers.
The launched prisoners, some of whom had been serving life sentences over lethal assaults in opposition to Israelis, wore shirts issued by the Israeli jail service bearing a message in Arabic about pursuing one’s enemies. Some of the prisoners threw the shirts on the bottom or set them on hearth.
Israel delayed the discharge of the prisoners on Saturday over Hamas’ observe of parading hostages earlier than crowds and cameras throughout their launch. Israel, together with the Red Cross and UN officers, have known as the ceremonies humiliating for the hostages.
Hamas launched the 4 our bodies to the Red Cross in Gaza in a single day with out a public ceremony.
The prisoners launched Thursday included 445 males, 21 youngsters and one girl, in keeping with lists shared by Palestinian officers that didn’t specify their ages. Only round 50 Palestinians have been launched into the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem on this spherical, whereas dozens sentenced to life over lethal assaults in opposition to Israelis have been exiled.
Last handover in ceasefire’s first phase The newest handover was the ultimate one deliberate below the ceasefire’s first phase, throughout which Hamas returned 33 hostages, together with eight our bodies, in exchange for practically 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
The household of Idan mentioned Wednesday that they had been advised he’s lifeless and his physique was amongst these to be returned to Israel.
Idan was taken from Kibbutz Nahal Oz. His eldest daughter, Maayan, was killed as militants shot by way of the door of the household’s protected room. Hamas militants broadcast themselves on Facebook holding the household hostage of their house as two youthful kids pleaded to be let go.
The truce is in peril The ceasefire’s six-week first phase expires this weekend. U.S. President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, has mentioned he desires the edges to maneuver into negotiations on the second phase. Those talks have been supposed to start the primary week of February.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to return all of the hostages and destroy the army and governing capabilities of Hamas, which stays in management of Gaza. The Trump administration has endorsed each objectives.
But it is unclear how Israel would destroy Hamas with out resuming the struggle, and Hamas is unlikely to launch the remaining hostages – its most important bargaining chips – with out a lasting ceasefire.
The ceasefire, brokered by the United States, Egypt and Qatar, ended 15 months of struggle that erupted after Hamas’ 2023 assault on southern Israel that killed about 1,200 folks. About 250 folks have been taken hostage.
If the identities of the 4 our bodies are confirmed, then 59 captives will stay in Gaza, 32 of whom are believed to be lifeless. Nearly 150 have been launched in ceasefire agreements or different offers, whereas dozens of our bodies have been recovered by Israeli forces and eight captives have been rescued alive.
Israel’s army offensive has killed greater than 48,000 Palestinians, in keeping with Palestinian well being officers, who do not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths however say over half the lifeless have been ladies and kids.
The combating displaced an estimated 90% of Gaza’s inhabitants and decimated the territory’s infrastructure and well being system.