Hamas demands release of 150 prisoners for each female IDF soldier
Hamas is demanding the release of 150 Palestinian prisoners for every female Israeli soldier freed from Gaza, according to a new report, as the two sides weigh the latest cease-fire deal presented by US, Egyptian and Qatari negotiators.
The latest deal, presented Tuesday, calls for a six-week truce in Gaza that would free all civilian hostages and IDF soldiers in exchange for Palestinians being held in Israeli prisons, but Hamas is allegedly straying from the agreed-upon ratio, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Similar to the cease-fire deal in November that saw more than 100 hostages freed, the new deal calls for one Israeli hostage to be freed for every three Palestinian prisoners.
Hamas, however, has demanded 150 prisoners for every female soldier. Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh also claimed that a final deal must include the “complete withdrawal of the occupation forces from the Gaza Strip,” Al Jazeera reports.
Both conditions are non-starters for Israel, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterating that his nation would not submit to those specific demands.
“We will not remove the IDF from the Gaza Strip and we will not release thousands of terrorists,” Netanyahu asserted during an appearance in the West Bank on Tuesday.
“None of this will happen. What will happen? Absolute victory,” he added.
The deal that remains up in the air is broken into three stages that call for Israel to halt its military actions in Gaza for six weeks in order for the exchange to take place.
The terror group would first release all civilian hostages, prioritizing children, women, the elderly and those who need medical attention. The first phase would also see Hamas release the bodies of civilian hostages believed to have died in captivity.
The second phase would see the releases of female Israeli soldiers in Gaza, with Hamas noting that male soldiers would also be included in the second phase.
Hamas has yet to make demands over how many hostages should be freed for the male soldiers, but has previously suggested that members of its elite Nukhba forces captured on Oct. 7 should be included in the swap, Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported.
The second phase also calls for an increase in aid deliveries to Gaza, as well as the restorations of basic utility services.
The third phase would see the release of the bodies of deceased Israeli troops in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners freed.
Israel estimates that Hamas has 109 hostages being held across Gaza, as well as the bodies of 27 people who died while in captivity.
The details hammered out in the proposal are still a framework that negotiators said would serve as a step in the right direction for a proper deal to be presented to Israel and Hamas by next week.
“We’re hoping in the near future to be able to get this over the finish line; we’re closer than we’ve ever been,” said John Kirby, the White House National Security Council spokesman.
Hamas officials have gathered in Cairo to discuss the deal, with Israel’s war cabinet convening on Thursday to discuss the proposal.
