U.S President, Joe Biden has given assurance of deal meant to ensure the release of Israeli captives in Gaza.
The U.S President told reporters, “We have been working on getting hostages out for weeks. We’re now very close.”
He said, “We could bring some of those hostages home soon, but don’t want to get into the details of things.”
He added, “Nothing is done until it’s done and when we have more to say we will, but things are looking good at the moment.”
According to an unnamed U.S official who spoke to a news agency, the deal being discussed would see the release of 50 Hamas-held captives, mostly women and children, in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners and a pause in fighting of four or five days.
“We believe we are very, very close to having a deal,” the official told the news agency.
He added, “There is still a lot of work to be done, still approval that has to be achieved. But we believe we are very close.”
It comes as Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu has convened Directors-General of government ministries ‘in light of’ possible captive deal.
The Directors will meet to “prepare for handling and assistance” in all non-military facets of the deal, if it is approved, the Israeli Prime Minister’s office said.
The Israeli security cabinet, war cabinet and government were set to meet consecutively to discuss – and possibly approve – a release deal.
Khalil al-Hayya, member of Hamas’s politburo, Al-Hayya says that Hamas responded to mediators Qatar and Egypt about the imminent deal on a ceasefire and the exchange of captives for Palestinian prisoners.
“We are waiting for the occupation’s response,” al-Hayya said.
“If the occupation does not want this truce, it will place hundreds of obstacles in front of it. There has been dialogue for months now and we have been exchanging proposals under the auspices of Qatar and Egypt regarding the truce.”
Khalil al-Hayya
“The next few hours are critical,” he said.
Khalil al-Hayya also denied Israeli allegations that Hamas used hospitals like al-Shifa as part of any ‘resistance acts’.
“The occupation is lying and fabricating stories as part of its plan to displace our people by driving them from the north to the south, and then to Sinai,” he said.
Religious Zionist Party Opposed To Captive Release Deal
Israel’s Religious Zionist Party, led by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, said that it cannot agree to a proposed deal for the release of some of the hostages held in Gaza.
In a statement, the party described the deal as “bad for Israel’s security, bad for the hostages, and bad for the soldiers of the IDF.”
It said the deal will “abandon” some of the hostages for an unknown period of time, “raise the price” for their release, and give Hamas the opportunity to reorganise.
The only way to return all the hostages “is by continuing the unceasing military pressure on Hamas until total victory.”
“Religious Zionism will stand strong for the continuing of the war until the total destruction of Hamas, the return of all the hostages, and the elimination of the threat posed by Gaza to Israeli citizens.”
Religious Zionist Party
Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s National Security Minister, well known for his anti-Palestinian beliefs, also said that he is opposed to the deal, arguing that Hamas’s approval “indicates that the army is carrying out an effective attack.”
Ben-Gvir added in a social media post that the Israeli army had to “continue fighting to subject [Hamas] to our conditions.”
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