Blinken presents plan for day after, negotiations persist
Hostage families meet with Netanyahu, Blinken: Hostage deal right on brink, awaiting final words from Hamas • Hostage deal likely to be announced within hours
Here are the key terms of the proposed Gaza hostage, ceasefire deal:
Timeline of hostages: Rescues, releases, ceasefire talks
Ninety-eight hostages remain in Gaza. They include Israelis and foreigners, civilians and soldiers, men, women, two children, and the elderly.
Mediators gave Israel and Hamas a final draft of a hostage release and Gaza ceasefire deal on Monday, an official briefed on the negotiations said, after a "breakthrough" in talks attended by envoys of both US President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump.
Ninety-eight hostages remain in Gaza. They include Israelis and foreigners, civilians and soldiers, men, women, two children, and the elderly. Around half of them are believed to be alive.
To read the full timeline, follow the link below.
Go to the full article >>Yesha Council chief: We oppose any deal that releases terrorists
The head of the Benjamin Regional Council and chairman of the Yesha Council, Yisrael Gantz, sent a letter on Monday to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, opposing the release of terrorists as part of the deal being formed with Hamas.
The Yesha Council is an umbrella organization that represents the municipal councils of Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
Hamas says talks over some core issues for Gaza ceasefire made progress
Hamas said on Monday that talks over some core issues for a ceasefire deal in Gaza have made progress, an official in the Palestinian group told Reuters.
"The negotiation over some core issues made progress and we are working to conclude what remains soon," added the official who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.
'Only through total victory can we bring all the hostages home': Tikva forum protests deal
The Tikva (Hope) Forum, which represents some families of hostages, came out against the deal that is reportedly on the table, emphasizing that they want "ALL the hostages home."
The forum called on the public to protest the deal in Jerusalem Monday night.
"No hostage can be left behind! We demand Israel destroy the enemy. Only through total victory can we bring all the hostages home."
The forum has come out against possible hostage deals in the past, pushing for more military pressure, which they say is the way to bring the hostages home.
Shas Chairman Aryeh Deri announces Shas will support a hostage deal
Shas Chairman Aryeh Deri addressed the deal being negotiated between Israel and Hamas at his faction meeting on Monday.
Deri said, "Shas supports Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his efforts to bring about the release of the hostages and will support any deal that is submitted for government approval for this important goal."
Lapid: A deal is possible, Hamas is uninterested in torpedoing it, I offered a political safety net
Yair Lapid addressed his meeting with Qatari officials in Paris, saying he offered to support Netanyahu politically if there is a deal.
Yesh Atid and opposition head Yair Lapid addressed his meeting with Qatari officials in Paris on Sunday at the beginning of the Yesh Atid faction meeting on Monday.
"The Qatari senior official reported to us about the actual situation of the hostage deal. I can't go into all the details, but we learned from him that a deal is possible, and at this stage, Hamas is not interested in torpedoing it."
He also mentioned that due to the coalition's opposition to the deal, "I offered him a political safety net for a hostage deal. This offer is more valid than ever. If Netanyahu can and wants to make a deal, he and I will know how to close the details of the safety net in half an hour."
Go to the full article >>'Very close to a hostage deal' Hamas official tells CNN
Several disagreements need to be resolved before finalizing the deal, the Hamas official said.
Hamas is very close to agreeing to a hostage deal with Israel, a Hamas official told CNN on Monday.
However, several disagreements still need to be resolved before finalizing the deal. One key issue is Hamas wants Israel to commit to a permanent ceasefire instead of just a temporary pause.
Additionally, Hamas has requested that Israel withdraw from the Philadelphi corridor, which is a 14-kilometer-long strip of land that separates the Gaza Strip from Egypt's Sinai Desert.
The Hamas official also told CNN that the terrorist organization has a list of Palestinian prisoners that they demand be released, as well as a map of territories from which they demand the IDF withdraw.
Final draft of hostage deal presented to Hamas after 'breakthrough,' official says
"It seems to be going in a positive direction, but [we] must be careful. We know this from past experiences," a source told The Jerusalem Post.
A three-stage deal to release the hostages held by Hamas terrorists in Gaza has been reached, and parties are awaiting Hamas’s response, a source told The Jerusalem Post on Monday morning.
Go to the full article >>Smotrich – emerging deal is a ‘national security catastrophe’
Now is the time to continue at full strength, conquer and clean the entire Strip, Smotrich said.
The emerging hostage deal is a “national security catastrophe,” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said in a statement on Monday morning.
Go to the full article >>Important facts
- Hamas launched a massive attack on October 7, with thousands of terrorists infiltrating from the Gaza border and taking some 240 hostages into Gaza.
- Over 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals were murdered, including over 350 at the Re'im music festival and hundreds of Israeli civilians across Gaza border communities.
- In November 2023, 50 hostages were released as part of a temporary ceasefire deal with Hamas.
- 98 hostages remain in Gaza.