Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has cautiously expressed hope that more hostages can be released from the hands of the Islamist Hamas. Asked whether such an agreement could be reached, Netanyahu said on Sunday. And added: “It could be, but I think the less I say about it, the more likely it is to happen.”
If this succeeds, it would only be the result of military pressure, Netanyahu emphasized to the American television channel NBC.
“That is the only thing that could lead to an agreement.” Only with the ground offensive by the Israeli army in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip did the negotiations move forward. “We will talk about it when the time comes and announce it when the time comes.”
Hamas could release 80 women and children
NBC and other U.S. media outlets, citing government sources, reported that there was discussion that Hamas could release about 80 women and children in exchange for Palestinian women and teenagers held in custody in Israel. There was no official confirmation of this. Netanyahu also did not go into details about a possible deal.
US President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told broadcaster ABC that negotiations were underway involving Qatar and the US government was actively involved. “Efforts are underway to reach an agreement that includes the release of hostages,” Sullivan said. Biden will not rest until such an agreement is reached.
How many missing people are still alive?
But Sullivan stressed: “I have to be careful about what I say publicly about this because it is obviously a delicate and sensitive negotiation.” The US government does not have exact numbers of hostages. There are only a few missing persons. But it is unclear how many of them are still alive. On the American side, nine people with American citizenship and one person with a permanent American residence permit are missing.
More than 200 people were forcibly kidnapped during the devastating attack on Israel by Hamas and other groups in early October. Only a few have been released so far. According to Israel, Hamas is still holding 239 people hostage, including women, children and the elderly.
Source: Krone
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