Israel sets conditions for hostage swap, cease-fire in Gaza, claims Israeli media

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) - Israel has set six conditions for a hostage swap and cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, an Israeli news channel revealed on Tuesday.

According to Channel 12, Israel is waiting for a response from the Palestinian resistance group Hamas through mediators, which is expected to come within 48 hours.

"The mediators' answer is expected to come today or tomorrow after listening to Hamas about whether it is possible to move forward and if it shows flexibility in its declared demand to stop fighting and withdraw all forces from the Gaza Strip," according to Channel 12.

"Within the next 24 to 48 hours, we will know whether we can make progress toward starting the talks," the Israeli broadcaster said, citing an unnamed Israeli official.

Earlier on Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel has made an offer for a cease-fire and hostage swap, but did not reveal any of the conditions.

However, Channel 12 revealed the Netanyahu government's six conditions, the most important of which is the release of hostages in exchange for a cease-fire in Gaza, which is currently under siege amid intensified Israeli military bombardment.

The broadcaster claimed that Israel would keep the deal with Hamas “classified” and would not accept it publicly. Israel would describe Hamas's gradual release of all hostages as "humanitarian" in nature.

Hamas would release hostages in stages, beginning with women, the elderly, and the injured, then men who are not soldiers, and finally Israeli soldiers and corpses, it said.

During the process, a cease-fire for several weeks, most likely two to three months, would be declared to complete hostage-swapping procedures, the broadcaster said, adding that the names of hostages to be released before their swap are disclosed at each stage.

As the fifth condition, Israel will redeploy its troops in the Gaza Strip and withdraw from residential areas throughout the enclave, allowing Palestinians to return to their homes in northern Gaza.

The sixth condition in Tel Aviv's proposal to Hamas is that Israel will not commit to ending the war at any stage.

Hamas group on several occasions has said it would not engage in talks on a hostage swap until a full and permanent cease-fire in Gaza was achieved.

Israel launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, killing at least 25,490 Palestinians and injuring 63,354. Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The Israeli offensive has left 85% of Gaza’s population internally displaced 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.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar