Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressing a press conference at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, December 9, 2024. (Photo by Alex Kolomoisky/POOL)
“What I have seen from Hamas is disappointing and completely unacceptable,” Witkoff said. He denied a Reuters report that Hamas had agreed to a hostage release proposal.
By Vered Weiss, World Israel News
On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted at an announcement about the 58 hostages remaining in Gaza “today or tomorrow.”
“The liberation of our hostages is our top priority. I hope we can announce something regarding this today – and if not today, then tomorrow. We are not giving up,” Netanyahu stated.
“There is an intensive IDF operation in the Gaza Strip while we are faced with baseless allegations from the international community.
“We are doing our utmost to defeat Hamas and free our hostages,” he concluded.
Netanyahu’s statements follow conflicting reports about hostage-release negotiations.
Reuters reported that Hamas accepted a proposal put forward by US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff that would free 10 hostages in two groups, coinciding with a 70-day ceasefire.
However, Axios journalist Barak Ravid said that Witkoff denied that Hamas had agreed to the proposal, adding, “What I have seen from Hamas is disappointing and completely unacceptable.”
Contrary to earlier reports, Witkoff indicated that Israel has agreed to a temporary pause in fighting that would correspond with the release of half of the living and half of the deceased hostages.
The truce would be the first step that would “lead to substantive negotiations to find a path to a permanent ceasefire, which I agreed to preside over,” said Witkoff. “That deal is on the table. Hamas should take it.”
Sky News Arabia reported on Monday that US President Donald Trump will announce a ceasefire corresponding with a hostage release deal in the coming days.
It is believed that 20 of the hostages held in Gaza are still alive.
After the release of Edan Alexander, the last living American hostage in Gaza, officials from the Trump administration expressed guarded optimism about the prospects for a comprehensive deal between Israel and Hamas.
Witkoff emphasized that the United States “will accept nothing less than the return of everyone, as this is the president’s mission.”
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