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Israeli defense minister says there’s a ‘good chance now’ for a hostage deal

There are indications that Israel and Hamas may be approaching a hostages-for-ceasefire deal, with conflicting reports on whether Hamas has provided Egypt with a list of individual hostages.

By World Israel News Staff

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz told US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin that there is a “good chance now” for a hostage release deal.

He added that after the October 7 massacre, Israelis are unwilling to risk their security, which is one of the reasons the IDF has destroyed strategic targets in Syria to dismantle fits military capabilities.

Regarding the ceasefire in Lebanon, Katz said there would be “zero tolerance” for violations.

Katz and Austin agreed that Iran poses a major threat andsaid they would strive to prevent the smuggling of weapons to Lebanon via Syria.

There are indications that Israel and Hamas may be approaching a hostages-for-ceasefire deal, with conflicting reports on whether Hamas has provided Egypt with a list of individuals—ill, wounded, female, and elderly—who could be released as part of the first phase of such an agreement.

A Monday report from the London-based Al-Araby Al-Jadeed claimed that Hamas had handed over a list of hostages to Egyptian intelligence along with a corresponding list of Palestinian prisoners it seeks to have released in return.

The Qatari news outlet also mentioned that four American hostages, who do not meet the specified criteria, were included on the list.

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Of the eight Israelis with American citizenship believed to be held in Gaza, three are still assumed to be alive: Keith Siegel, who at 65 could be considered elderly; lone soldier Edan Alexander, 20, who was recently featured in a Hamas propaganda video; and Sagui Dekel-Chen, 35, from Kibbutz Nir Oz.

A senior Hamas official in Lebanon, Ahmed Abdel Hadi, denied the report on Wednesday, telling the local outlet Al Mayadeen that no such list had been provided. He also rejected an Israeli report from the previous week that claimed Israel had presented Egyptian negotiators with an updated version of the ceasefire deal, which had been stalled for months. Hadi stated, “There was no Zionist offer… nor were there any new ideas for us to consider.”