Israeli and Hamas officials are holding talks in Qatar in renewed push to secure ceasefire deal
\n Tel Aviv
\nHamas has said it is ready to release 34 captives as part of a ceasefire deal with Israel, the Reuters and AFP news agencies have reported, citing an official with the Palestinian group.
\nThe Palestinian group, which governs the Gaza Strip, has approved the release of the captives \u201cas part of the first phase of a prisoner exchange deal\u201d, the AFP reported on Sunday, citing an unnamed Hamas official.
\nThe initial swap would include all women, children, elderly people and sick captives being held in Gaza, the AFP reported the official as saying.
\nBut Hamas needed time to determine their condition, he said. \u201cHamas has agreed to release the 34 prisoners, whether alive or dead. However, the group needs a week of calm to communicate with the captors and identify those who are alive and those who are dead,\u201d the official said.
\nReuters cited an unnamed Hamas official as saying a ceasefire deal would depend on Israel agreeing to a permanent ceasefire and its withdrawal from Gaza.
\nThe office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Hamas had not shared details of the 34 captives with them.
\n\u201cAs yet, Israel has not received any confirmation or comment by Hamas regarding the status of the hostages appearing on the list,\u201d Netanyahu\u2019s office said in a statement.
\nThe reports come as negotiations to reach a ceasefire agreement are under way in Qatar.
\nThe administration of United States President Joe Biden, which is mediating the talks, is hoping for a last-minute breakthrough in the talks before US President-elect Donald Trump takes office on January 20.
\nUS Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday that Washington wanted to see a ceasefire deal in Gaza concluded before the end of the Biden administration, but it may take longer.
\n\u201cWe very much want to bring this over the finish line in the next two weeks, the time we have remaining,\u201d Blinken told a press conference in South Korea, where he is on a visit. \u201cIf we don\u2019t get it across the finish line in the next two weeks, I\u2019m confident that it will get its completion at some point, hopefully sooner rather than later.\u201d
\n\u2018It\u2019s up to Israel\u2019
\nReporting from the Qatari capital Doha, Al Jazeera\u2019s Ali Hashem said that there were still significant differences to bridge between the sides.
\n\u201cIn the end, there is a need for a political decision. And this decision right now is with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as Hamas has thrown the ball into the Israeli court. And it\u2019s up to Israel whether to take this to the second stage or not,\u201d Hashem said.
\nHashem said the negotiations were also occurring in the context of Trump\u2019s warnings about the consequences of not reaching a deal.
\n\u201cTrump warned just a few weeks ago that if there is no ceasefire when he takes office, then hell is going to be unleashed. So, who is he warning? Is it Netanyahu? Unlikely. Hamas? Very likely,\u201d Hashem said.
\n\u201cSo, how will Hamas deal with this? Are they going to give up what they\u2019ve been seeking? Especially the issue of Israel\u2019s withdrawal from Gaza and a permanent ceasefire. Because right now, at the time that Hamas releases the captives it\u2019s holding, there is no guarantee that this war will end. And that\u2019s why Hamas wants a clear commitment from Israel.\u201d
\nIsrael on Sunday continued to bombard Gaza, with its military claiming to have struck more than 100 \u201cterror targets\u201d in the enclave over the weekend.
\nGaza health officials said Israeli strikes had killed more than 100 Palestinians, including five people at a house in the Nuseirat camp and five at a police station in Khan Younis.
\nMore than 45,800 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its war in Gaza in response to Hamas\u2019s October 7, 2023 attacks on the country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Israeli and Hamas officials are holding talks in Qatar in renewed push to secure ceasefire deal Tel Aviv Hamas has said it is ready to release 34 captives as part of a ceasefire deal with Israel, the Reuters and AFP news agencies have reported, citing an official with the Palestinian group. The Palestinian group, which […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":453951,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-453922","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n