Hamas may release 33 Israeli hostages in new ceasefire deal

(CLO) Two Israeli officials said Hamas is expected to release 33 hostages in the first phase of a ceasefire deal being finalized by negotiators in Doha, Qatar.

Israel believes most of the 33 hostages are still alive, a senior Israeli official told reporters on Monday, but the bodies of dead hostages were also likely among those released in the initial 42-day ceasefire.

Hamas and its allies are still holding 94 hostages taken from Israel in attacks on October 7, 2023, of whom at least 34 have died, according to the Israeli government .

Information board about Israeli hostages held in Gaza. Photo: CC/Oren Rozen

A senior Israeli official said the parties appeared to be on the verge of reaching an agreement and Israel was ready to implement the deal immediately after it was signed.

US President Joe Biden expressed similar optimism in a foreign policy-focused speech on Monday, saying the US was "pressing hard to end this".

“The deal we have forged will free the hostages, end the fighting, ensure Israel’s security and allow us to dramatically increase humanitarian aid to the Palestinians, who have suffered terribly in the war that Hamas has waged. They have been through hell,” Biden said.

A near-final round of talks to finalize all issues is scheduled to take place in Doha on Tuesday, sources said. On the same day, some hostage families have been invited to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to the Forum for Hostage and Missing Families.

The release of the 33 hostages will be the first phase of the deal. Negotiations to reach the second phase - aimed at ending the war - will begin on the 16th day of the deal's implementation.

According to the latest proposals revealed by officials, Israeli forces would maintain a presence along the Philadelphia Corridor – a narrow strip of land along the Egyptian-Gaza border – during the first phase of the deal.

Israel will also maintain a buffer zone inside Gaza along the border with Israel, an official said, but did not specify how large that buffer zone would be - another contentious topic in the talks.

People in northern Gaza will be allowed to return freely to the north of the strip, but there will be "security measures" from Israel. Palestinian prisoners deemed responsible for killing Israelis are not expected to be released to the West Bank, but will be released to Gaza or abroad.

A senior Israeli official told reporters on Monday that a "breakthrough" in the talks came Sunday night during a meeting between Israel's Mossad intelligence chief, David Barnea, and mediators in Doha, Qatar.

"We are getting closer than ever to a deal but mediators in Doha are still waiting for an official response from both sides," said a Saudi official briefed on the talks.

Hoang Huy (according to TOI, CNN, Reuters)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/hamas-co-the-som-tha-33-hostages-israel-trong-thoa-thuan-ngung-ban-moi-post330268.html