Israel issues ultimatum to Hamas over hostage deal

The subject of secret talks between Israel and Hamas, mediated by Egypt, Qatar and the United States, is a plan to release hostages held by Hamas and end Israel’s hostilities at several stages., writes “Axios”. Similar efforts have failed in the past, as Hamas made Israel’s final war conditional on the partial release of hostages.

More recently, observers assumed that Hamas would reject this multi-phase mediation plan. According to Axios, things may turn out differently. Senior Israeli officials said they had seen “first signs” that the Islamists would agree to the first phase of the deal — a temporary truce that included wounded women, children, the elderly and hostages — without insistence. The case so far is that Israel has committed itself to ending the war from the start.

From the beginning, the Israeli leadership insisted on a multi-phase agreement, reserving the option to continue the war if no further agreements were reached after the release of the first hostages and a limited ceasefire. At the same time, Muslims set a price for giving. “Hamas (…) may reduce the number of hostages it releases on humanitarian grounds and instead increase the number of Palestinian prisoners (in Israeli jails) to be released,” reports “Axios”. (sda/dpa)