Israel apparently offers Hamas a week-long ceasefire
The fighting in the Gaza Strip is tough, the casualty figures and the suffering of the civilian population are high. An offer made by Israel to Hamas could provide some relief, at least temporarily. The terrorist organization is to release more hostages in return for a week's silence, according to a report.
According to a media report, Israel has offered a renewed pause in fighting for at least a week in negotiations over the release of further hostages from the Gaza Strip. As the news portal Axios reported last night, citing two Israeli officials and another informed source, Israel expects the Islamist Hamas to release more than three dozen hostages in return.
Israeli President Izchak Herzog had held out the prospect of a new pause in fighting the previous day. "Israel is ready for a further humanitarian pause and additional humanitarian aid to enable the release of hostages," he told diplomats, according to a spokesman.
Israel's proposal of at least a one-week ceasefire in return for the release of around 40 hostages was submitted via the mediator Qatar, the news portal reported. The remaining women, men over the age of 60 and other hostages still held in Gaza who were ill or seriously wounded and in urgent need of medical assistance were to be released, it said.
105 hostages were released
It was Israel's first proposal since a week-long ceasefire expired last month, reported "Axios". In the process, 105 hostages were released. In return, Israel released 240 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.
The media reported on Monday that Mossad chief David Barnea was discussing new negotiations with Hamas with CIA Director William Burns and Qatar's Prime Minister Abdulrahman Al Thani in Warsaw. The terrorist organization had previously said that it did not want to conduct negotiations without an end to Israel's hostilities. According to Israeli estimates, at least 109 hostages are still being held in the Gaza Strip. Hamas is also not releasing the bodies of several kidnapped people.
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The truce proposal from Israel involves a week-long ceasefire, contingent upon Hamas releasing more than three dozen hostages from the Gaza Strip. Following the expiration of a previous week-long ceasefire last month, Israel released 105 hostages in return for releasing 240 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. Despite the release of several hostages and the ongoing negotiations, at least 109 hostages are still being held in the Gaza Strip by Hamas, and the bodies of several kidnapped individuals remain unreturned.
Source: www.ntv.de
