Israeli officials know location of most of the hostages – report

There is no indication that Hamas has yet provided a list showing which captives are alive.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Israeli officials are reportedly aware of the locations of most of the hostages in Gaza. However, there is no indication that Hamas has yet provided a list showing which captives are alive, The Jewish Chronicle reports.

As negotiations for a hostage release deal continue in Qatar, an Israeli official said, “We know the whereabouts of most of the hostages.”

Israel has not agreed to Hamas’s demand for a complete cessation of the war. However, the terror group apparently is willing to agree to what the Israeli source calls a “prolonged ceasefire” that would allow ongoing negotiations and the delivery of humanitarian aid while still not forcing Israel to relinquish its military goal.

According to reports by Al-Ghad, an Egyptian news outlet, Israel has requested the release of 11 men in the first phase of the deal in addition to women and ill and elderly hostages.

In exchange, Israel will free 250 Palestinian prisoners. The identity and conditions of release for these prisoners have been the subject of ongoing negotiations.

Ninety-six hostages are believed to be held in Gaza, but the IDF has confirmed that as many as 34 have died.

Although a BBC report on Sunday indicated that the negotiations were “90% complete,” Israeli officials are recommending caution in expecting a quick outcome.

Issues still being discussed include control of the Gaza-Egypt border, humanitarian corridors, and the creation of a buffer zone between the Israel and Gaza border. A Palestinian official said, “Once these issues are resolved, a potential ceasefire could begin within days.”

As part of the deal now under consideration, Israel would permit the large-scale return of Gazans to the northern Strip under the oversight of Egypt and Qatar, with some 500 trucks entering the Gaza Strip daily to deliver international aid.

In the third stage of the ceasefire, the war between Israel and Hamas would be terminated, and the Gaza Strip would be handed over to a committee of non-partisan technocrats endorsed by various Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Fatah.