Israeli war cabinet approves guidelines for hostage swap talks with Hamas

By Said Amouri

JERUSALEM (AA) – The Israeli war cabinet on Sunday approved guidelines for negotiations with Hamas regarding a hostage exchange deal, according to Israeli media.

The move came after talks were held in Paris on Friday between representatives of Israel, the US, Qatar and Egypt to discuss a hostage-prisoner swap deal between Tel Aviv and Hamas.

When Hamas accepts these guidelines, Israel will send a delegation to Qatar to continue hostage swap talks, Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported.

The daily, however, did not provide any details about these guidelines.

According to the newspaper, many details still need to be discussed, including the terms of a proposed cease-fire, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza.

Hamas is believed to be holding more than 130 Israeli hostages following its cross-border attack on Oct. 7, while Israel holds at least 8,800 Palestinians in its prisons, according to official sources from both parties.

A previous deal in November saw the release of 81 Israelis and 24 foreigners in exchange for 240 Palestinians, including 71 women and 169 children.

Israel has launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, killing more than 29,690 people and causing mass destruction and shortages of necessities, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed.

The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory'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 stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi