There is serious doubt that Hamas will agree to a proposal offered in recent days that includes the release of all 48 hostages on the first day of the deal, an Israeli official told The Jerusalem Post.
According to the proposal by the US and Israel, Hamas would release all 48 living hostages, as well as the bodies of the deceased, on the first day of a ceasefire. In return, the US would provide a guarantee that as long as no agreement on ending the war is reached, Israel will not resume military operations in Gaza.
“Hamas won’t give up all the hostages right at the start; it’s simply unrealistic,” an Israeli official told the Post. “The only question we’re currently asking ourselves is whether this dialogue will lead to another round of talks.”
Behind the scenes, messages continue to be exchanged between Israel, Washington, the mediators, and Hamas.
“There is now an intense dialogue that didn’t exist a few weeks ago, and that is an optimistic sign,” a person familiar with the matter said.
Another source said Hamas claims to trust US President Donald Trump’s statements, but releasing all of the hostages based solely on a promise that the war will not be renewed is “simply not going to happen.”
In addition, Hamas is making it clear that any deal must include a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, a source said.
Israeli officials have clarified that at least in the first phase, Israel is willing to cancel the planned operation to capture Gaza City and withdraw to where the IDF was before the initial phase of Operation Gideon’s Chariots II.
Hamas leaders say it's 'not possible' to release hostages all at once
Hamas sources told London-based newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat the ideas currently being presented regarding a ceasefire in Gaza contain “many traps and pitfalls that need to be dismantled, so the agreement includes fair conditions that meet the demands of all sides – especially ending the war, which is the central issue for Hamas and the Palestinian factions.”
Some aspects of the proposal, including handing over all the hostages on the first day, would be difficult, the sources said, adding that there must be clear guarantees of an Israeli withdrawal according to previously agreed-upon lines.
Furthermore, Hamas leaders have informed the mediators that “it is not possible to release both living and deceased hostages all at once on the first day of the ceasefire,” one of the sources said.
“Some hostages were killed in specific locations where the Israeli military must cease fire in order to retrieve the bodies from beneath the rubble in areas where Israeli forces had entered,” one of the sources said.
On Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had destroyed 50 “terrorist towers” over the previous two days.
“This is just the beginning of the intensified ground maneuver in Gaza City,” he said. “I say to the residents: You’ve been warned. Leave now.”