Hamas says will free hostages if end to Gaza war guaranteed

gaza city: A senior Hamas official says that the Palestinian terror group is prepared to release all Israeli hostages in exchange for a “serious prisoner swap” and guarantees that Israel will end the war in Gaza.

Hamas is engaged in negotiations in Cairo with mediators from Egypt and Qatar — two nations working alongside the United States to broker a ceasefire.

“We are ready to release all Israeli captives in exchange for a serious prisoner swap deal, an end to the war, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and the entry of humanitarian aid,” Taher al-Nunu, a senior Hamas official, said.

However, he accuses Israel of obstructing progress toward a ceasefire. “The issue is not the number of captives,” Nunu says, “but rather that the occupation is reneging on its commitments, blocking the implementation of the ceasefire agreement and continuing the war.”

“Hamas has therefore stressed the need for guarantees to compel the occupation [Israel] to uphold the agreement,” he adds.

Reports today say that a new proposal had been put to Hamas. Under the deal, the group would release 10 living hostages in exchange for US guarantees that Israel would enter negotiations for a second phase of the ceasefire.

The first phase of the ceasefire, which began on January 19 and included multiple hostage-prisoner exchanges, lasted two months before disintegrating.

Efforts towards a new truce have stalled, reportedly over disputes regarding the number of hostages to be released by Hamas, with 58 people still held in the Palestinian territory.

Pointing to those failed negotiations, Israeli campaign group the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said it was against talks aimed at phased hostage releases.

“The phases method wastes valuable time and jeopardises all of the hostages”, the group representing relatives

of hostages said.