Will free US-Israeli hostage only if truce agreement implemented, says Hamas
Hamas said on Saturday it will only release an American-Israeli and the bodies of four other hostages if Israel implements their ceasefire agreement, calling it an “exceptional deal” aimed at getting the truce back on track.
Israeli strikes meanwhile killed eight people in the Gaza Strip, including a local reporter, according to medics.
A senior Hamas official said long-delayed talks over the ceasefire’s second phase would need to begin the day of the release and last no longer than 50 days. Israel would also need to stop barring the entry of humanitarian aid and withdraw from a strategic corridor along Gaza’s border with Egypt.
Hamas would also demand the release of more Palestinian prisoners in exchange for hostages, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door talks.
Edan Alexander, 21, who grew up in Tenafly, New Jersey, was abducted from his military base during Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack that ignited the war, and is the last living American citizen held in Gaza. Hamas still has a total of 59 hostages, 35 of whom are believed to be dead.
There was no immediate comment on Hamas’ offer from Israel, where government offices were closed for the weekly Sabbath.
Israeli airstrike kills 9 Gazans
At least nine Palestinians were killed, including two local journalists, and others wounded on Saturday in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza’s northern Beit Lahiya town, Gaza’s health ministry said, as Hamas’ leaders hold Gaza ceasefire talks with mediators in Cairo. The incident underscores the fragility of the January 19 truce deal that halted fighting in Gaza. Palestinian health officials say dozens of people have been killed by Israeli fire despite the truce.
