Media: Israel awaits Hamas approval for hostage deal

Israel is awaiting approval from the Palestinian radical movement Hamas to finalize a deal regarding hostages.

Key details of a potential deal between Hamas and Israel to release hostages have been agreed upon, with Palestinian agreement on a deal on Israel's terms expected, Caliber.Az reports, citing the Israeli N12 channel.

"All that separates Israel from the deal is Hamas's consent. This means that if Hamas says 'yes,' the deal is made. All the details are effectively already agreed upon," the report states.

In Doha, Qatar, where negotiations have been ongoing since December last year to end hostilities in Gaza and exchange prisoners, with mediation from Qatar and Egypt, Hamas has so far refused to disclose the names of the hostages who will be released. 

However, as the publication notes, "an agreement can be reached in the coming weeks, and the differences between the parties could be resolved."

In December of last year, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that there had been "certain progress" in the negotiations on a ceasefire in Gaza and the exchange of hostages. He emphasized that this progress was due to military pressure on Hamas in Gaza and the death of the head of Hamas's political bureau, Yehya Sinwar.

Later that same month, Hamas announced that Israel had set new conditions for the withdrawal of troops from Gaza. At that time, Netanyahu's office reported that the Israeli delegation would leave Doha, where negotiations on the release of hostages in Gaza were taking place, to hold "internal consultations."

In January of this year, The Jerusalem Post reported that the negotiations between Israel and Hamas on the release of hostages in Gaza and a ceasefire were progressing slowly. Moreover, a source familiar with the situation clarified that the mediators were conducting "serious and diligent work" to form the deal. According to the source, "there is movement and even some flexibility" between the parties, but the issue remains unresolved.

The situation in the Middle East escalated on the morning of October 7, 2023, when the Palestinian radical group Hamas launched a massive rocket attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip. That same day, Israel began retaliatory strikes.

The Palestinians aim to return to the borders that existed before the Six-Day War of 1967, with a possible exchange of territories. Palestine wants to establish its state on the West Bank of the Jordan River and in the Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital. Israel refuses these terms.

By Khagan Isayev