Hamas said on Friday that it has agreed to a plan to free an American-Israeli hostage and the remains of four other hostages in Gaza. The gesture comes as Israel and Hamas are holding indirect negotiations, facilitated by Egypt and Qatar with US involvement, to hammer out the next stage of a ceasefire deal.
The Associated Press reported that the to-be-released hostage is Edan Alexander, a dual US citizen and Israeli soldier. All four dead hostages are also dual citizens. Yet Hamas refused to give a schedule for releasing them, and Israel and the facilitating nations have yet to verify the announcement.
Hamas spokesman Husam Badran reaffirmed the group’s support for fully executing the ceasefire agreement but cautioned that Israel would drive negotiations back to the beginning if it deviates from the terms. The negotiations currently center on the second stage of the ceasefire agreement signed in January, calling for the release of all hostages and the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
The deal, however, is strained with comments from US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, both of whom indicated they are opposed to an Israeli pullout. Trump has suggested the United States assumes control of Gaza, drives out native Palestinians, and rebuilds the region into a resort city.
After Hamas made the announcement, Netanyahu was scheduled to conduct security consultations later in the day, The Jerusalem Post reported. Israeli news outlet Walla also announced the four hostages killed as Omer Neutra, Itay Chen, Gadi Haggai, and Judy Weinstein Haggai. These sources have not been confirmed yet.
As quoted by Walla, Trump’s Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, had offered Hamas a plan on Wednesday that would see the ceasefire extended by several weeks in return for the release of at least five living hostages and some corpses. Hamas accepted the offer, which indicated that there could be progress in the negotiations.
