Gaza ceasefire negotiations: Hamas says it does not have 40 live hostages needed for truce

I already said it before. And he repeated it on Wednesday: Hamas has indicated this currently fails to identify and locate the 40 Israeli hostages needed for the first phase of the ceasefire agreementaccording to an Israeli official and a source close to the discussions, raising fears that more hostages may have died than is publicly known.

After six months of bloody conflict in Gaza, mediators from Qatar, Egypt and the United States have presented a three-stage truce proposal, according to a Hamas source.

The first phase involves a six-week ceasefire to allow the exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners.

The group that attacked Israel on October 7, sparking the current conflict and taking with it more than 200 hostages, says it is unable to locate those abducted to begin the first phase of the truce.

The only truce reached so far, in November, lasted a week and led to the release of 78 hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners with minor crimes.

Negotiations underway

The framework established by the negotiators foresees that during the first six weeks a pause in the fighting Hamas should free 40 of the remaining hostages, including all women, as well as sick and elderly men. In exchange, hundreds of Palestinian prisoners would be released from Israeli prisons.

Hamas told international mediators, including Qatar and Egypt it doesn’t have 40 live hostages who meet the criteria for release, both sources said. CNN’s record of hostage conditions also suggests there are fewer than 40 living hostages who meet the proposed criteria.

Hamas’s inability – or unwillingness – to tell Israel which hostages would be released alive is an obstacle important, added the second source. Since Hamas appears unable to reach 40 in the proposed categories, Israel has been pushing for Hamas to do so complete the initial release with younger male hostages, including soldiers, the Israeli official said.

Over the months of negotiations since the last ceasefire, Israel has repeatedly asked for the list of hostages and their conditions.. Hamas has argued that a pause in the fighting is needed so it can track down and round up the hostages. the same argument used in November before a week-long pause cut short after Hamas failed to hand over any more hostages.

According to Hamas, the devastation caused by Israeli bombing is responsible for the group’s inability to find the prisoners.

It is believed that most of the nearly 100 hostages still alive are male IDF soldiers or men of military reserve age. Hamas is expected to attempt to use them in later stages to try to negotiate more significant concessions, including more high-level prisoners and a permanent end to the war.