The official of the political wing of Hamas, Bassem Naim, said that the Palestinian Islamist organization cannot give Israel a list of hostages who are still alive, since it does not know it, nor does it know where the hostages are.
“We have not submitted any list so far. But above all, technically and practically, it is now impossible to know exactly who is still alive and who has been killed, due to the Israeli bombing and starvation due to the Israeli blockade,” said Naim in Istanbul today to a published interview with the BBC.
He added that the hostages are in different areas with different groups and that is why a ceasefire has been called to gather information. In the attacks of Palestinian extremists on the south of Israel on October 7 last year, around 1,200 people were killed, and 250 hostages were kidnapped and taken to the Gaza Strip.
After that, the war began, which has lasted for 150 days and in which more than 30,000 Palestinians were killed in the Israeli offensive. Around 100 hostages were released during the seven-day ceasefire at the end of November. According to Israeli data, about 130 hostages are still being held in Gaza, but it is known that not all of them are alive.
As one of the conditions for participating in the negotiations on a new truce, Israel demands that Hamas hand over a list of hostages who are alive.
Naim, an official of the extremist organization’s political bureau, repeated to the BBC that Hamas will not agree to a truce agreement unless the war ends and the Israeli army withdraws completely from Gaza, Israeli media reported.
Another high-ranking Hamas official told Arab World Press that the ball is now in “Israel’s court” in the hostage negotiations, as criteria for the release of Palestinian prisoners, who would be exchanged for Israeli hostages, have been presented.
He said Hamas did not name the prisoners it was seeking to release, but added that the list would include at least 20 Palestinians serving life sentences.
Israeli media report that Hamas is not pressuring the residents of Gaza to immediately return to the north of that small enclave, so that it is not overpopulated, but that it wants the return in stages of about 500 families per day during the ceasefire, with the participation of the Red Cross and the UN Aid to Palestine Agency for refugees (UNRWA).
Israel did not send a delegation to Cairo to negotiate a cease-fire because it did not receive answers to two questions, how many hostages are alive and how many prisoners Hamas wants in exchange for them.
Photo: BBC
