Hamas to free 33 Israeli hostages in truce deal to end Gaza war

Israel is said to be in advanced stages of negotiations with Hamas for a ceasefire deal in Gaza that will see the Palestinian group release 33 of the hostages it has been holding captive since October 2023 and ending more than 15 months of war.

Media reports quoting Israeli officials said the ceasefire talks in Doha were in an advanced stage and were being coordinated by Qatar and Egypt as well as the outgoing and incoming US administrations.

CNN quoted a senior Israeli official as saying that it was believed that most of the 33 hostages were alive, and the mortal remains of the dead hostages were expected to be released in the initial 42-day ceasefire.

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Women to be freed

Most of the hostages to be released in the first lot are expected to be children, women, female soldiers, the elderly and the sick. Once this is done, Israel would implement its part of the truce deal.

According to Israeli officials, the progress in the negotiations followed the weakening of the Hezbollah and the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria, putting tremendous pressure on Hamas.

Pressure and threats from the incoming US President-elect Donald Trump also helped to bring the Hamas to the table, the Times of Israel reported.

Hamas holds 94 hostages

At the same time, according to Israeli media reports, Israeli military officials had also told their government that a deal was the best way forward as the war could not go on and on.

If the first stage of the deal is carried out, then Israel will begin negotiations on a second stage to free the remaining captives — male soldiers and men of military age — as well as the bodies of slain hostages, the officials said.

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It is believed that 94 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7, 2023 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the Israeli Defence Force (IDF).

Palestinians to be freed

Israel is believed to be holding onto significant “assets” including high-profile Hamas prisoners and territory in the Gaza Strip to use as leverage in a second stage of negotiations.

In the meanwhile, Israel will withdraw from most areas of the Gaza Strip and release a large number of Palestinian prisoners, including from the Hamas, who are accused of carrying out deadly attacks.

The freed Palestinians would not be allowed to return to the West Bank but will rather go to Gaza and possibly to Egypt, Turkey and Qatar. But nobody who took part in the October 7 Hamas onslaught will be freed, Israeli officials said.

Yahya Sinwar’s body

In response to news reports that said that Hamas also wants the body of its former leader, Yahya Sinwar, released, an unnamed Israeli official was quoted as saying in the media: “It will not happen. Period.”

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Meanwhile, outgoing US president Joe Biden said on Monday that Washington was pressing hard to close this deal.

Earlier, President-elect Donald Trump said he believed a ceasefire deal could be concluded before his inauguration on January 20. "We are very close to getting it done," he said in an interview with Newsmax.