Israel, Hamas showing more flexibility in hostage talks: Israeli media

By Said Amori

JERUSALEM (AA) – Both Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas have become more flexible regarding a potential hostage swap deal, an Israeli source said Sunday.

The individual spoke to the Israeli Broadcasting Authority, which did not name him but described him as an “informed source.”

The source said there is significant pressure from the US on the conflicting parties to reach an agreement.

He said the flexibility from both parties emerged after a meeting held by Hamas leaders with mediators and a meeting of the heads of the Israeli negotiating delegation with US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) chief William Burns and Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani earlier Sunday.

The Israeli source emphasized that there is significant pressure from the US in an attempt to reach a formula acceptable to both sides.

Earlier in the day, Israel’s war cabinet decided to send a delegation to Cairo to take part in negotiations to reach a hostage swap deal with Hamas, according to Israeli media.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu linked halting the war on the Gaza Strip to the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in a televised speech on Sunday.

Qatar, Egypt and the US are trying to reach a hostage swap deal and cease-fire in Gaza as the first pause lasted only a week in late November last year, which resulted in limited aid entering the Gaza Strip, as well as exchanges of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, mostly women and children detained in Israeli jails.

Israel is currently holding at least 9,100 Palestinians in its jails, while there are an estimated 134 Israeli hostages being held in Gaza. Hamas has announced the deaths of 70 of them in various Israeli airstrikes.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack early last October by Hamas which killed around 1,200 people.

Nearly 33,200 Palestinians have since been killed and almost 75,900 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which recently asked it to do more to prevent famine in Gaza.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala