Israel says opportunity available for prisoner swap deal with Hamas

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) – Israel has an opportunity to reach an agreement on a prisoner exchange with Hamas, leading to a cease-fire in Gaza, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said on Thursday.

Sa’ar held talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Malta on Thursday on the sidelines of the Ministerial Council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

“I expressed to the Secretary that Israel sees an opportunity to advance a deal to release the hostages, and is serious in its intent to reach such a deal,” he said on X.

US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that Blinken emphasized “the urgency of bringing all of the hostages home, ending the war in Gaza, and establishing a path for the post-conflict period that provides lasting peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians alike.”

Early Thursday, Israeli politicians claimed what they called “serious and advanced contacts” for a hostage swap and a cease-fire in Gaza as part of a new Egyptian proposal to both Israel and Hamas, according to Israeli media.

There has been no confirmation yet from Egypt or Hamas of the Israeli claim.

According to Israeli Channel 12, the Egyptian proposal includes a cessation of fighting for 45 to 60 days and opening the Rafah border crossing.

The proposal also includes a gradual release of live hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and an increase in the number of aid trucks into Gaza to some 350 per day, according to the broadcaster.

Israel, which holds over 10,000 Palestinian detainees in its jails, estimates that 101 hostages are being held in Gaza while Hamas reported that 33 of them had been killed in indiscriminate Israeli airstrikes.

Mediation efforts led by the US, Egypt, and Qatar to reach a Gaza cease-fire and prisoner swap agreement between Israel and Hamas have failed over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to halt the war.

Israel has launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip last October, killing nearly 44,600 people, most of them women and children, and injuring over 105,700.

The second year of the genocide in Gaza has drawn growing international condemnation, with officials and institutions labeling the attacks and blocking of aid deliveries as a deliberate attempt to destroy a population.

Last month, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its deadly war on Gaza.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala

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