Israel-Hamas War: Hostage Deal Talks Underway For 6-Week Pause, Release of All Civilian

A hostage deal is being worked out with Hamas that would see all civilian hostages in Gaza freed over a six-week pause in fighting, in exchange for three times Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli jails, US media reports said.

There were “strong indications” a deal would move ahead, The Times of Israel reported citing an Israeli official. This comes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told family members of hostages that the details of any deal must be kept discreet for it to work. “The more discreet it is, the greater are its chances for success,” Netanyahu was quoted as saying by his office.

The initial agreement envisions additional pauses during which hostage soldiers and bodies of dead hostages will be released, the Washington Post reported, citing unnamed officials. The outline has been partly accepted by Tel Aviv and is being weighed by Hamas’s military leaders, the report said. A delegation of Palestinian outfit is expected to meet with Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel in Cairo on Wednesday to discuss a potential truce-for-hostages deal. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh himself would be visiting Cairo to discuss the potential deal, in his first public trip to Egypt in over a month.

A New York Times report last week said that a ceasefire deal being proposed, allows the release of women, elderly, and wounded hostages in the initial phase. The second phase suggests a suspension of military operations for another 30 days in exchange for the release of Israeli soldiers and male civilians. The ratio of Palestinians to be released from Israeli prisons is still under negotiation, but it is being seen as a resolvable issue.

The reports said that the deal also facilitates increased humanitarian aid to Gaza. Hamas has demanded a full ceasefire, but the NTY report said that “officials close to the talks believe that if Israel halts the war for two months, it would likely not resume it in the same way that it has waged it until now.” The October 7 attack killed some 1,200 people in Israel, and around 250 people were abducted. Around 100 hostages were freed under a weeklong cease-fire deal in November in exchange for the release of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Around 130 remain captive, but a number have since been confirmed dead.