Hamas wants to release hostages during 50-day ceasefire

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that his government had received a proposal from the mediators and had made a counter-offer in coordination with the USA. According to the news website "ynet", Israel is demanding the release of ten abductees.

According to Hamas, the ceasefire is to begin on the days following the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. The days celebrating Eid al-Fitr begin in the Palestinian territories and many other countries on Sunday.

An agreement can probably only be reached after Eid al-Fitr due to the Israeli counter-proposal, as the Israeli news portal "walla" reported, citing an Israeli official. According to the report, the bodies of abductees could also be handed over to Israel as part of a new deal.

The Egyptian draft is similar to a proposal made by US special envoy Steve Witkoff a few weeks ago, the report continued. Hamas rejected the proposal at the time.

Israeli media speculated that Hamas also wanted to achieve a possible ceasefire in order to contain the demonstrations that had recently broken out against it in the Gaza Strip. This is currently not possible due to Israel's attacks in the Gaza Strip.

The war was triggered by the attack by Hamas and other extremist groups in Israel on October 7, 2023, in which around 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 Israelis were taken hostage in the Gaza Strip. Israel has been fighting Hamas ever since. According to the health authorities in the Gaza Strip, more than 50,100 people have been killed so far. A third of these are children and young people. The figures cannot be independently verified. However, international organizations such as the UN consider them to be largely credible.