Egypt pushing Hamas for confirmation of hostages’ health

Hamas faces growing demands from Egypt to disclose the health and status of Israeli captives as truce efforts flounder.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

On the heels of stalled ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas, Egypt is pushing the terror group to release detailed information about the health conditions of Israeli hostages, including confirming who is still alive.

According to a report from Saudi outlet Al-Hadath, Hamas is attempting to shift the onus of responsibility to Israel, claiming it cannot guarantee the safety of captives while the IDF is operating in the Gaza Strip.

Regardless of Hamas’s stance, the Egyptians – who have attempted to broker a truce, alongside Qatar, since the October 7 massacres – are still demanding that the terror group provide a complete report about the hostages’ well-being.

A separate report from London-based Arabic-language outlet Asharq Al-Awsat, which cited unnamed sources, claimed that Egypt and Qatar are at work on a new truce proposal that would see Hamas free all the remaining hostages, both living and dead, at one time.

The proposal would see Israel release thousands of Palestinian convicted terrorists from its prisons in exchange for the release of the hostages.

The ceasefire, which would last for six months, would likely require Israel to completely withdraw all of its troops and military assets from the Strip.

According to the report, the outline for the plan does not include US President Donald Trump’s proposal to resettle Gazans elsewhere while the embattled enclave is undergoing reconstruction.

Egypt and Qatar are reportedly weighing plans for a long-term ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, along with options for rebuilding the Strip.

However, there is a major sticking point for Israel in the current proposal – that it does not require Hamas to disarm.

Israel has long held that any ceasefire which does not mandate Hamas to demilitarize is a non-starter.

A recent ceasefire proposal was rejected by Hamas, with Egypt blaming Qatar for the failure.

In a bombshell statement, Egypt accused Qatar of telling Hamas to torpedo the deal.

Egyptian sources charged that Qatar promised the terror group that it would receive a proposal with more favorable conditions in the future.