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The Gaza based terrorist group called Hamas has reportedly called for a truce with Israel amid the latter’s relentless attacks on the besieged strip for the past two weeks in exchange for the release of 70 hostages according to the spokesperson of the group’s military wing.
The spokesperson of the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas told the mediators that it is ready to release upto the 70 women and children in exchange for a five-day truce, a media agency reported citing a social media post on November 13, 2023. However, the Israeli side has demanded the release of 100 women and children.
Hamas hostages in Gaza
Hamas has captured 239 hostages during the deadly surprise attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023 that killed 1400 people in the Jewish country. The spokesperson accused Israel of hampering the negotiations by continuing to attacks targets in Gaza and putting the lives of hostages in danger.
This comes after a video on Hamas social media channel claimed that an Israeli woman hostage in Gaza was killed in an airstrike. Most of the video showed that woman speaking into camera, a short statement where she gave the details of her father, mother, her hometown and her Israeli ID, an international media reported. According to a statement released by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) “ Hamas uses psychological terror and acts inhumanely, thorough the videos and photos as it has done in the past.
So far, Hamas has released only four hostages since its October 7, 2023 attack. Two of them are senior citizens with ages over 80, while the other two are Judith Raanan and her 18-year-old daughter Natalie. Hamas has released them for humanitarian reasons in agreements with Qatari government.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has previously rejected the details for a ceasefire with the Palestinian militant group in Gaza for the release of the hostages held in the territory earlier in war according to sources familiar with negotiations.
Multiple US officials have said that the negotiations to free the hostages are ongoing with the assistance of America, a media agency reported. The US President Joe Biden top Middle East Advisor Brett McGurk is heading to Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar with stops possible. Earlier it was reported that talks to free hostages had broken down after Hamas demanded Israel allow its fuel deliveries in besieged Gaza and declined to guarantee the release of foreign captives.
Hamas Losing Control of Gaza
Meanwhile, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant recently completed a situational assessment of the fighting in Gaza in which he emphasised the progress of IDF forces have made. “The IDF forces work according to a plan and carry out the missions with precision, lethality and in coordination between the air, sea and land forces, using precise intelligence,” he said.
Gallant went on to state that Hamas has lost control of Gaza an added that its terrorists are fleeing south.” The minister also reported the civilians in Gaza are looting Hamas bases because they believe that Hamas has lost power to rule any longer.
“Our forces are advancing, carrying out the missions according to the plan, when we increase thr pressure we see the results, everyday we eliminate more Hamas commanders, tens and sometimes, hundreds of terrorists and the IDF comes to the city centre of Gaza and acts according to its considerations,” he added.
Large-scale fighting and bombings in the Gaza Strip began after the deadly surprise attack by Hamas militants on October 7, which killed more than 1,400 people in Israel. In retaliation, Israeli bombardment and ground operations have claimed more than 11,000 lives in Gaza, including over 4,000 children and 3,000 women.
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