Hamas has not yet submitted a list of the names of the hostages the movement will release as part of an agreement. This was announced by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on Sunday evening.
Shortly before, a source from Hamas has otherwise announced that the militant Palestinian movement has approved a list of names of 34 hostages that Israel wants to release.
An agreement will depend on whether Israel withdraws and enters into a ceasefire, the unnamed representative of Hamas continues. On that point, Hamas has seen no progress from Israel, the source adds.
Representatives from Israel and Hamas are currently engaged in indirect negotiations in Qatar.
In addition to Qatar, brokers from the USA and Egypt also participate.
Hamas announced on Saturday that the militant movement wants to conclude an agreement as soon as possible. However, it is not immediately clear how far apart the two parties are.
According to the Times of Israel, Israeli sources say that progress is being made in the negotiations, but that there are still bumps on the road to an agreement.
It is particularly about the number of hostages to be released in the first place.
Israel fears that there will not be another opportunity, and therefore wants as many hostages as possible released in the first instance, an Israeli official told the newspaper.
According to the Israeli source, Hamas has not yet provided a list of how many of the remaining hostages are alive.
According to the news agency AFP, the Israeli military’s latest statement states that there are still 96 hostages in the custody of Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Of those, 34 are believed to be dead.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called a group of ministers to a security meeting on Sunday. It started at 5 p.m. local time (4 p.m. Danish time), writes the Times of Israel.
/ritzau/
Source: www.kristeligt-dagblad.dk
