Israel sends delegation to negotiate hostage deal with Hamas

Refugee who took shelter at school affiliated to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which is located near the building affects after Israeli attacks on the 5-storey building belonging to the Attal family in Khan Yunis, Gaza on July 03, 2024. [Doaa Albaz – Anadolu Agency]

Israel has sent a delegation to negotiate a hostage release deal with Hamas, a government official said today, according to Reuters.

Under a deal brokered in late November by the United States, Qatar and Egypt, more than 100 of the estimated 240 prisoners of war taken to Gaza on 7 October were freed in exchange for the release of 240 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

Since then, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced mounting pressure to secure the release of the remaining 136 hostages. Hamas has said it will release the hostages as part of a ceasefire deal, however Netanyahu has refused to agree to such terms moving ahead with his genocidal war on Gaza.

READ: 90% of Palestinian residents have been displaced in Gaza, says UN

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