Gaza City:
Hamas said on Saturday that “the ball is in the court of Israel” after the release of an Israel-US mortgage and offer to return the bodies of four other people as part of the Gaza Trus talks.
Following the proposal on Friday, Israel said that Palestinian militants “did not land a millimeter” after a proposal by the Middle East Avtee of US President Donald Trump.
The first phase of the Trus, which began in January, ended on 1 March without a compromise in the next stages. A Hamas official said that the conversation started in Doha on Tuesday.
A Hamas spokesperson said, “The ball is in the court of Israel.”
Abdul Latif al-Qanau told AFP, “We want to unite the ceasefire agreement and force (Israel) to implement our terms.”
He pointed to the ongoing obstruction of humanitarian aid entering Gaza from 2 March.
Speaking anonymously, a member of a Hamas political bureau, while speaking anonymity, told the proposal to release 21-year-old soldier Aidan Alexander-Hamas kidnapped during the October 7, 2023 attack-and returned the bodies of four other Israel-American hostages, was part of a “unique agreement”.
In turn, the Israel Palestinian prisoners will be freed, still under the conversation with the number, the officer said.
The official said the proposed exchange was air -conditioned with a simultaneous conversation for the second phase implementation of the Trus, in which the talks ended within a period of 50 days, he said.
He also said that the proposal also asked to allow the entry of humanitarian aid to Gaza for the immediate inauguration of all border crossings and to allow the Israeli army to withdraw from the Philadelfi Corridor.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on Friday accused Hamas of resorting to “manipulation and psychological war”.
Netanyahu’s office said he would meet with several ministers late Saturday night “to get a detailed report from the talks team and set the next step towards freeing the hostages”.
The White House on Friday accused Hamas of making “completely impractical” demands and “at that time making a very bad bet”.
During the initial six -week phase of the Trus, which came into force on January 19, the terrorists released 33 hostages, including eight, who died, in exchange for about 1,800 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
58 hostages have still been organized in Gaza, out of which 34 Israeli army has declared dead.
(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is published by a syndicated feed.)
