Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu indicated that an update may be imminent concerning the 58 hostages still being held in Gaza.
“I hope we can announce something today or tomorrow regarding the hostages,” Netanyahu stated.
This remark came after a Reuters report claimed that Hamas had consented to release ten hostages in two separate batches in return for a ceasefire lasting seventy days.
Despite that report, Barak Ravid of Axios noted that US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff dismissed the suggestion that Hamas had agreed to the terms he had proposed.
“What I have seen from Hamas is disappointing and completely unacceptable,” Witkoff told Ravid.
Witkoff, however, acknowledged that Israel had accepted a proposal for a limited truce and a hostage agreement. According to him, the deal involves the return of half of the surviving hostages as well as half of the bodies of those who have died, and would initiate meaningful talks aimed at achieving a lasting end to the conflict. “That deal is on the table. Hamas should take it.”
Sky News Arabia reported earlier in the day that prevailing expectations are for President Donald Trump to publicly announce a ceasefire in Gaza shortly. The move is anticipated to coincide with an agreement for the liberation of the Israeli captives held by Hamas. It is believed that roughly 20 of the remaining hostages are still alive.
{Matzav.com}