Hamas’ offer to release 33 Israeli hostages also includes the dead

The war began after a Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7th.

The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas has agreed to a three-stage ceasefire and hostage-for-prisoner deal. However, the group told negotiators that not all of the hostages released in the first phase were still alive.

Under the proposed three-stage ceasefire agreement, Hamas will release 33 Israeli hostages, living or dead, in exchange for Israel releasing 30 children and women for each Israeli hostage released, based on lists provided by Hamas by earliest date of detention.

Hamas said on Monday it accepted a proposal for a ceasefire in the seven-month war in Gaza. The announcement brought cheering crowds onto the streets.

In the first phase, Hamas will release three Israeli hostages on the third day of the deal and then release three more hostages every seven days, giving priority to women, including civilians and conscripts, where possible, according to the proposal.

In the sixth week, Hamas will release all remaining civilian hostages affected by this phase. In return, Israel will release the agreed number of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons, according to lists provided by Hamas.

On the third day after the release of the first Palestinian prisoners, Israeli forces will completely withdraw from Al-Rashid Street in northern Gaza and all military sites will be demolished.

On the 22nd day of the first phase, Israeli forces will withdraw from the center of the strip east of Salah al-Din Street to an area near the Israeli border.

In phase two, the group has proposed releasing Israeli reservists and some soldiers in exchange for Israel releasing Palestinians from prison.

In phase three, the exchange of panels would be completed and the implementation of reconstruction would begin in accordance with the plan monitored by Qatar, Egypt and the United Nations.

An Israeli official, meanwhile, said the deal was unacceptable to Israel because the terms had been “softened,” Reuters reported.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the proposal was “far from Israel’s key demands” but that the government would send negotiators to talks “to explore the potential for an agreement.”

Hamas member Khalil al-Hayya told Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera that the proposal also includes a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza with the aim of a “permanent ceasefire.”

Netanyahu has vowed to send ground troops to Rafah regardless of a ceasefire, defying international concerns.

Commenting on Hamas’ announcement, Netanyahu’s office also said the Rafah offensive would continue “to exert military pressure on Hamas and promote the release of our hostages.”

Netanyahu rejected Hamas’s demands for an end to the Gaza war in return for the release of hostages, saying it would keep the Palestinian Islamist group in power and pose a threat to Israel.

The war began after a Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, which Israel said killed 1,200 people and took 252 hostages.