Finance
Hamas has agreed to free 20 Israeli hostages in its custody, rather than the 33 suggested by Israel.
A delegation of Hamas leaders led by Khalil al-Hayva has arrived in Cairo for a new round of indirect mediation negotiations aimed at achieving a cease-fire in the war with Israel and freeing Israeli hostages.
Zaher Jabarin and Ghazi Hamad are two of the three Hamas leaders in the delegation.
According to Israeli Defense Ministry sources, Hamas has notified Qatari and Egyptian mediators that it is willing to release 20 Israeli hostages, including women, the elderly, and the sick.
Israel had previously proposed the release of 33 of its captives held in Hamas captivity in exchange for over 600 Palestinian inmates languishing in Israeli jails.
William Burns, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), has arrived in Cairo and will oversee the indirect mediatory talks.
Mossad Chief David Barnea leads the Israeli mission, which is already in Cairo.
According to sources, Hamas has also asked a 40-day ceasefire, followed by Israel’s permanent withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already notified the mediators that the Israeli army will assault the Gaza Strip’s Rafah region by next Friday if the mediatory discussions do not progress.
According to sources in Israel’s Prime Minister’s office, Netanyahu told the US that Israel had no choice but to launch a military operation in Rafah in order to free its hostages as well as to defeat Hamas.
The elite Nahal Brigade of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has already been stationed at Rafah in Gaza and is waiting for a political clearance for a ground invasion.
Source:IANS
